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0-915935-30-9
History of Center Line Michigan

Pre
History 4

Paleo,
Archaic, Woodland periods 6

The
Peoples of Warren 7

Bloody
Invasions 8

What did
we learn from the Indians & vise versa 8

Our Local
Animals 9

What was
the area like in 1701 9

French
Rule 9

Malaria
and ague 10

1745
parties to kill scalp, torture any settler 10

George
Washington 10

Cannibals
10

The
Language Problem 10

The Bloody
British rule 11

The
British had American settlers killed 11

Pontiac’s
rebellion 11

Hamilton
the Hair Buyer 12

The Treaty
of Paris in 1783 12

Three
thousand persons were scalped or made captives by bands from Detroit
12

American
Scalps were paraded daily in Detroit 13

Americans
went on the attack 13

Cruelly
attacked gentle peace loving Moravians 13

1794 Jay’s
treaty GET OUT! 14

Christian
Clemens 13

George
Rogers Clark 13

In 1805
Detroit burned down 13

MICHIGAN
BECOMES A TERRITORY 13

In 1805
The American emigration had begun 13

Peaceful
Indians Built Michigan's First Road 13

Peaceful
Christians Slaughtered 13

The
Americans are coming! 13

10,000
Americans Kidnapped 14

They
fooled a general 15

In 1813
hundreds of soldiers died from diseases 14

Old
Hickory beat British in New Orleans 15

Battle on
Lake Erie 15

Due to
Put-in-Bay In American Hands to Stay 15

By 1816
the British had withdrawn 15

Epidemics
Cholera small pox many children and adults died of diseases we have
cures for now 16

Terrible
influenza epidemic killed thousands 16

Many women
died in childbirth. 16

Indian
Trails “centre line trail” 17

Rule of
law at last Peace and Democracy Rein 17

First
recorded visit to Center Line area 17

An Indian
woman saved the Governor’s life 18

Macomb
County organized January of 1818 17

1825 Erie
Canal 18

Land For
Sale! 18

Settlers
came from many countries 19

Rule of
Law at Last 19

The land
office booming in the 1830s. 19

First
Center Line & Warren Land Owners 19

What was
on the pioneers table? 26

One good
turn led to another 26

First
things first 27

Determination
27

Kunrod’s
Corners 28

Times of
Peace and Joy 28

Daily
Activities 30

Historic
Diary 30

The good
of the Good Old Days 31

What was
bad about the Old Days. 31

Market 32

Transportation
35

Ride the
Stage 35

Statewide
fire 35

Churches
36

St Clement
36

Fire and
Police 38

Locals 40

Pioneer
Cemeteries 41

Who's Who
of Center Line 44

Wars 44

What can
be learned from History 48

Roads and
Farms 49

Schools 51

Civic
Groups 53

Fire
Protection 53

Libraries
and Recreation 55

Interurbans
and Great Depression 58

Mail 59

What we
did before TV 60

The Good
Old Days 61

1950s 61

1960s 66

1970s 70

1980s 72

1990s 72

2000s 73

Historical
observations 74

Did Center
Line water actually burn? 76

We are
sitting on millions of gallons of oil, gas 76

Mom the
cow fell into the well! 76

Grandma
took on a bear 76

Mayors of
Center Line 77

Works
Cited 78

APPENDIX

What can
be learned from History? 79

Pictures
89

Compiled
by Prof.. Wesley Edward Arnold MA. With thanks to the help of many
folks to told me their memories.

If all of the history of our area was
imaged on the face of a clock the prehistory and total history of
mankind would take up only a small fraction of the last second.
To get true perspective we need to look at the big picture.

Note the new better
spelling of the word thru, and foto which are spelled the way they
should be. Languages such as English can and do change for the
better. Looks strange but better.

Also note that this
work contains thinking questions and comments for students for
better learning.

Pre
history of Warren and Center Line

For many thousands of
years Warren was covered with seas, glaciers, lakes, clay, marshland
and forests. Mastodon bones and other fossils found in the area date
back from ten thousand years to hundreds of millions of years.
Although there is no human record we read the history from the
evidence left in the rocks themselves going back millions of years.
The topsoil under our feet took thousands of years to build up.
Below that is about a hundred feet of clay which are the remains of
mountains dragged here by the glaciers from the Upper Peninsula.
Below that are many layers of rock formed in many ways some from
millions of years of this area being covered by shallow seas and
coral reefs. There are layers of salt that extend from here to New
York which are the result of salt water seas drying out. If a clock
face were to represent all of prehistory and history of our area
only the last fraction of a second would represent the history of
mankind on this planet. Mankind's tenure on this planet has been
very short in comparison to many other things. How far back does
history go?

The area that became
Warren was first formed from molten rock and became part of the edge
of the Canadian Shield about five billion years ago as the Earth
cooled. The Earth's crust later folded forming mountains and
volcanoes to the north of the Lower Peninsula. The Penokean Mountain
range was created in the upper peninsula of Michigan and was
probably high as the present Rockies.

Over 600 million years
ago in the Precambrian Era the area that would become Warren was
part of a shallow sea in which sediments were deposited on the sea
floor from the erosion of the mountains. After the old mountains
were eroded down the Killarney Mountains were formed in the Upper
Peninsula. Geologists have found sedimentary rocks layered, folded
and tilted, or crumpled into wavy lines, indicating that originally
flat layers were pushed up into ridges and mountains. By measuring
the angle and thickness of these layers of rock (strata) and
studying the places where still hidden strata appear as outcrops on
the surface, geologists have determined that a great mountain chain,
sometimes referred to as the Killarney Mountains, extended from
Minnesota, across Wisconsin and Michigan, and on eastward into
Canada. This mountain range towered over the landscape for millions
of years until the combined forces of earthquakes, glaciers and
weather eroded them away. We are now resting on top of the ground
down Killarney Mountains.

In the Cambrian period
over 500 million years ago the land was uplifted many times. With
each uplift the sediments were changed and folded and new igneous
rocks were forced into these formations. The mountains eroded and
the sediments that were carried into the shallow sea became the
layer of Cambrian Sandstone located below present day Warren.

In the Ordovician
period over 425 million years ago Warren remained under the ancient
sea which became alternately shallower, deeper, clear and muddy
which formed the layers of limestone from millions of small animal
shells and dolomite and shale formed from muddy water.

Since the Michigan
area was shaped like a huge saucer it has been called the Michigan
Basin by geologists.

During the Silurian
Period over 400 million years ago the area of Warren was covered
with deep seas with clear warm waters. Great deposits of muds and
corals were formed (now called the Niagara Limestones). This is
about 3200 feet below Warren now. One form of coral became the state
stone (the Petoskey Stone). Toward the end of this time the seas
became salty as ocean water splashed into the basin and many forms
of life died. Layers of salt, and anhydrite settled in the bottom of
the basin which is now down about 1200 feet below Warren. Later more
limestone was formed.

During the Devonian
period over 325 million years ago the climate became warm and moist.
Michigan became a closed pond. This was the age of fishes and corals
which formed limestone. Later as a bay formed and vegetation
sediments were deposited various shales were formed.

During the
Mississippian period over 310 million years ago shales, limestone
and gypsum were deposited.

During the
Pennsylvanian period over 280 million years ago Warren was above the
sea while the center of the state was a huge swamp with huge fern
like plants (which later formed coal).

During the Permian
period over 220 million years ago the climate of Warren became
alternately hot and dry and mild. There were saber tooth tigers,
horses and other animals including dinosaurs. Erosion has removed
all traces of these and almost everything else up to the end of the
last glacial period. For a source for the above just look at any
Michigan Geography book. (Geo of MI)

About a million years
ago the climate gradually became colder and the land was covered
with snow. As it continued to grow colder the snow became deeper and
changed to ice under the pressure of the snow layers above. Glaciers
100's of feet thick pushed, scraped and ground the surface of the
land as they advanced. Warren was covered by thick ice for thousands
of years.

Center
Line Rests on Top of Mountains!

There were several
periods of glaciation. When the glaciers melted, deposits of glacial
drift (now almost 100 feet thick) settled to the bottom of the lake
which was formed at the end of the glacier. The ground we are now
resting on top of is the remains of the ground down Killarney
Mountains. These mountains that used to be in the upper peninsula
which were themselves formed from the Penokean Mountains are now the
dense clay that is under the topsoil and sand layers of Warren’s
gardens. You can be historically correct when you state that Warren
rests on top of mountains.

Warren thawed out but
rested under an expanded Lake St. Clair until about 10,000 years
ago.

As the lake level
declined and the ground rose Warren at first was tundra with arctic
plants, then low plants and shrubs, then gradually the following
trees became dominant: Spruce, fir, pine, oak, chestnut walnut,
sycamore butternut, basswood, elm, beech ash, oak, and pine. Some of
the animals that have lived in the area of Warren since the glaciers
and lake retreated are: wolf, giant beaver, white-tailed deer, musk
ox, mastodon, American elk, Jefferson mammoth, muskrat, moose,
short-tailed shrew, woodchuck,, eastern chipmunk red squirrel, gray
squirrel Canada beaver, white-footed deer mouse, vole, raccoon,
martin, red fox and many different species of birds. Mastodons were
a special animal. What happened to them? How big were they?

Mankind
has caused threatening changes but History can help.

Archaeologists tell us
that man lived in Michigan at least 14,000 years ago. (Lawrence E.
Ziewacz 1) What is strange is that several civilizations seem to
have become extinct. Scientists say that there has been as many of
five extinctions of life on this planet. I mention them because they
may be true and because it gives us something to think about.
Mankind after all still has the specter of nuclear winter which will
follow even a modest nuclear exchange perhaps brought on by
terrorists. We now have serious disasters happening such as
hurricanes and droughts caused by global warming which is now
accepted scientific fact. Our planet is now suffering massive global
extinctions of animal and plant species caused by pollution and
human activity. The Carbon dioxide balance is being upset by
industrialization and the global depletion of the planet’s
rain forests. The Ozone layer has taken a beating leading to
increase in cancers. Peoples in the past had a strong ozone layer to
protect them. They lived practically their entire lives outside They
did not have or need sun screen lotion. And they had clean air to
breathe unlike now when thousands of people dying as a result of
pollution. Our governments are not seeing to it that enough research
is being done on drugs to stop the new drug resistant bacteria. Our
enemies are mainly only ourselves and bacteria.

We live on a planet
which is a mere speck in the vastness of a huge uninhabitable
universe. It is like a big spaceship and it has no life preservers.
We need to take care of our space ship as it is the only one we
have. History can help us do that. History can show us where to
make changes in our cultures for example to put an end to violence
and needless wars thru rule of law and thru a code of conduct that
must be required of every citizen of our planet-spaceship Earth. If
we cannot live together in peace the nuclear weapons and biological
weapons will be unleashed and we will all die. Scientists are
concerned because terrorists are increasingly able to accumulate
more destructive power. Nuclear weapons and materials are being
stolen particularly from the old Soviet Union and now Pakistan.
History warns us that weapons usually get used. Lastly history tells
us that we had better pay attention to science. Medical scientists
are warning us that more medical research needs to be done to find
antibiotics against super germs. With the human population soon to
be 7 billion our enemies the bacteria and viruses have a huge target
population in which to develop mutations. Super germs are increasing
at an unprecedented rate and we need to develop antibiotics against
them. We had better pay attention to history of epidemics. We need
to be observant, informed, and prepared.

Nuclear
catastrophe in the past in Michigan?

The oldest radiocarbon
dating from Michigan archaeological digs prove that man was in the
area 5350 years ago. And that may actually be a false reading. It
actually be much older because a nuclear event may have happened
that throws readings off. A very recent scientific discovery of a
possible nuclear event (not man made) that happened several thousand
years ago leading to the extinction of mankind and animals in
Michigan and causing genetic mutations including the appearance of
corn. Theory is that radioactive rays from a super nova explosion in
space hit Michigan with radiation. (See Firestone, Richard
TERRESTRIAL EVIDENCE OF A NUCLEAR CATASTROPHE IN PALEOINDIAN TIMES.
by Richard B. Firestone, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and
William Topping, Consultant, Baldwin, Michigan From: THE MAMMOTH
TRUMPET (March 2001) http://abob.libs.uga.edu/bobk/nuclear.html)

There have been
several finds in our area such as huge Mastodon bones.

Other resent
scientific research shows that our planet may have had multiple mass
extinctions of much of its life caused by meteor impacts. (Brit)

As the glaciers melted
plants returned and the animals moved further North. As the animals
moved North ancient man who lived by hunting followed. At that time
there was a land bridge between Asia and Alaska. It is believed that
that is how man got to North America. These "Indians" are
referred to by archaeologists as "Paleo-Indian People". It
is believed that they were in Michigan about 12,000 years ago. They
followed the herds of animals which they depended on for food and
clothing. Later they were primitive hunters living in a boreal lake
shore environment later with spruce forest cover. They made stone
tools from chert. They also made tools from bone and antlers. We
know this because large spear points have been found along with
other primitive tools.

These people were
followed by a "Late-Paleo-Indian Culture" who hunted deer,
wolf, muskrat, black bear, turtles, birds, bison, and fish.

The Archaic Indian
Culture existed in Michigan from 7000 to 2000 BC. Their culture
adapted to life in a deciduous forest, but near lakes and rivers.
They hunted, fished and gathered wild edible plants such as berries
and nuts. They brewed vitamin rich teas from leaves of junipers,
hemlock trees and other plants. There is some evidence that the
climate was changing and they had to adapt. They learned to grind
granite stone and polish it into tools with which they could make
wooden tools, bowls and dugout canoes.

The Late Archaic
Indian culture existed in Michigan approximately from 3000 BC to
2000 BC and had a much more diffuse economy. They used acorns,
pines, beech, walnut, butternuts, hickory, and grapes. 'Their meat
was mainly muskrats and fish. This people had contacts with others
that mined copper in the Upper Peninsula, and they traded with
others in what is now Mexico. What caused their sudden mysterious
disappearance is unknown.

The Early Woodland
period (1,000 to 300 B.C.) was a period of "firsts."
According to the Michigan Historical Library who state “People
planted the first gardens, made the first pottery, and built the
first burial mounds.” Their rough pottery was used to cook and
prepare food. So by this time they had mastered the use of fire.
(MHL)

There is some notation
in the historical literature about a primitive people who were much
taller than other Indian tribes and had a different culture. They
traded with other peoples as far south as Mexico. Little is known of
them.

Around 300 B.C. to
A.D. 500, called The Middle Woodland Period Hopewell peoples moved
into Michigan from the south.* They built large, complex burial
mounds which sometimes contained as many as 20 persons. The mounds
were built over tombs in which as many as 20 people might be buried.
Since they did not have shovels they carried dirt to the site in
containers and piled it up. “Oftentimes, people were buried
with interesting and unusual objects from far-away places. These
objects included such things as copper beads from the shores of Lake
Superior, cups made of shell from the Gulf of Mexico and fresh-water
pearls from the Mississippi River valley.”* Some of above
paraphrased from the State of Michigan historical website.
Historians now feel mounds were the work of Indian peoples. (Willis
F Dunbar 28 )

Over 1000 mounds have
been recorded in Michigan. (Hinsdale) 1,068 (Willis F Dunbar ) Mound
Road was named after a mound nearby. Many other Indian peoples,
buried their dead in mounds. Sometimes they made these mounds in the
outline shape of animals. Some mounds had enclosures in them which
were like rooms. Others were large such one at the one at the mouth
of the Clinton which had a circular enclosure that contained three
acres. The Indians believed in an after life and buried with their
dead things they thought they would use. Macomb County had at
least 8 Indian villages, 4 burying grounds, 8 circular enclosures,
and 1 rectangular enclosure. There were also at least 28 mounds.
There actually were more mounds but they were already destroyed by
pot hunters and farmers. Even stranger were the mysterious earth
work forts and shaped earth designs with 18 inch tall inner and
outer designer walls that are called “gardens” which
took on geometric patterns. We still do not know what they were used
for. See books by Hinsdale and Hubbard. The Hopewell used
tobacco and carved beautiful stone pipes, often in the shapes of
animals. (Hinsdale)

The Late Woodland
Indians (A.D. 500 to 1,650) were the ones who first had a true
agricultural base. They planted corn, squash, melons, and beans.
They also were gatherers of berries and nuts, rice and other wild
edibles and they hunted mainly hunted deer, elk and small mammals.
They also were good fishers sometimes using fish nets. They tapped
sugar maple trees for sap and made maple sugar.

The Indians that the
Frenchmen found here were living in the new Stone Age. That is they
had learned to use stone as tools such as hammers, axes and
arrowheads. These Indians were in two large groups The Iroquois, and
the Algonquians. The Warren area was part of the hunting-gathering
grounds of the above peoples. Many times in the past this area was
part of a no-man's land between warring groups. Many innocent people
were needlessly slaughtered over the centuries. Many also died of
injuries, disease, lack of food and exposure in winter. (Viola see
works cited)

The
Indians of Center Line

Approximately 100,000
Indians or about ten percent of the total Indian population north of
Mexico lived in the Great lakes region in the 1600s. (Lawrence E.
Ziewacz 2). “The most numerous and influential were the
Ottawa, Chippewa and Potawatomi.” They called themselves the
“Three Fires.” (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 2)

The Algonquians
depended on gathering, fishing, hunting and limited agriculture.
They lived in wigwams which were shelters made from bent saplings
covered with bark or skins. For the most part they lived further
north but our area was part of their range. (Viola)

The Iroquois were more
advanced than the Algonquians. They lived in long shelters made of
young trees stood in two rows bent toward each other tied in the
center then covered with bark. Several families lived in each
shelter. They often built a stockade around their villages for
protection. They gathered, hunted, fished, grew corn, pumpkin and
vegetables.

Our area appears to
have been mainly inhabited by the Hurons also known as the
Wyandottes who were from the 1600s on at war with other Iroquois
especially with those to the South. The Clinton River was originally
called the Huron River because of these Indians.

They had a village
where Detroit is now. The name Huron comes from the French word for
boar "hure" as the Hurons kept their black hair short and
bristly like a boar's hair. They hunted deer, bear, muskrats,
beaver, birds and fish. When the French arrived in the early
seventeenth century, the Huron were at the height of their power.
The Huron population varies, but as many as thirty thousand people
lived in about twenty-five villages. Michigan History magazine
stated “The Huron were sedentary, living in large villages
with a high degree of community Raids from the Iroquoian tribes in
New York destroyed the Huron. Survivors were adopted into other
tribes or became refugees.” (Perkins)

The Michigan tribes
were not highly organized. “Leadership in their classless
society was based on an individual's hunting or fishing skill,
physical prowess, warring abilities, or eloquence in speech. Leaders
had no delegated power but maintained influence through acts of
kindness, wisdom, generosity, and humility. Positions of leadership
always were earned and could not be passed from generation to
generation as a hereditary right.” (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 4)
Marriage was between clans.

The Great Lakes
Indians “believed that the most important social custom was
reciprocity. This was basically the idea of doing something for
someone, or giving them something, with the expectation that they
would do something in return.” (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 6)
“Reciprocity and sharing was the heart if Indian economic and
social organization. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 7) Indians felt that the
land belonged to everyone. Although there was communal property that
everyone shared. Even the concept of personal property was limited.
It was unsatisfactory for a person to have tow of something when
another had none. They all lived in the wilderness and were subject
to the weather and seasons. The Indians of Michigan had roles for
each member of their society. Men did hunting, fishing, trading and
defending. Women cooked, prepared clothing, did all of the camp
duties and raised children. Children were taught respect and
responsibility and were expected to learn everything about the
culture. They were conditioned not to cry or make loud noises. The
Indians had strong family ties because they were raised in an
atmosphere of love and respect. Indians often did not punish their
children at all.

The Indians lived in a
land of relative abundance yet groups often starved in the winter.
And how does one explain the ongoing tribal wars? It appears that
just as the grass often appears greener on the other side of the
fence the hunting grounds of other tribes looked better. Then young
men seem to at times have the urge to fight. Most of the Indians
were young. There was very high infant mortality. The Indians for
the most part were very superstitious. They were loving within their
family but extremely vicious and savage in war.

The Iroquois
slaughtered the Huron Indians who had lived in southern Michigan.
This forced other tribes to move further west. Even French
missionaries suffered torture and death. For example father Jean de
Breboeuf a peaceful man suffered extremely horrible torture
needlessly. “The Iroquois sling red-hot tomahawks over his
neck and fastened a bark belt around his wast and ignited it. When
the priest continued to pray, his lips and tongue were cut off. He
was then scalped while still living, and after his death his heart
was cut out and devoured in honor of his bravery. (Lawrence E.
Ziewacz 23)

There were many
battles fought here. Hundreds of arrowheads and other weapons were
found. Not all for hunting animals. From the stories and legends of
the Indians it has been discovered that there was a lot of warfare
between tribes. And this was before white man came here. Then
looking at the record of how the Indians treated others and treated
their captives demonstrated how cruel they could be. They often
tortured captives and took slaves. Scalping was practiced before
white man entered but when white men gave the Indians scalping
knives and paid them to bring back scalps they excelled at this
butchery. They even dug up newly killed persons and scalped them to
sell the scalps for goods and fire water. Thousands were killed and
scalped including women and children. When archaeologist dug up
burial sites in Macomb County it became obvious a lot of people died
in cruel warfare. We also know that the Indians were even cruel to
child captors. See the attached statement by Governor Cass.

Purity

The Air
was pure, The Water was pure and the land was pure The
St Clair River was so clear one could see the bottom. The same was
true of Lake St Clair and the Detroit River in the 1700 and early
1800s. The same was true of all of the rivers and streams in our
area. Lake St Clair had clear blue water. (Silas Farmer p4) The well
water was pure except for natural gas. The fish that were caught
were wholesome. Now the fish have poison in them and the lakes and
rivers are sewers. The land in Macomb County is poisoned in several
places. There are places in Macomb County with deadly chemicals
under where people live and children play. One big toxic site is in
East Pointe. Families are now living on these sites which are many
times more toxic than safely allowable for humans to live on. Yet to
show you how ignorant many present day people are they are still
living there putting their children at risk because they are
ignorant of current issues. They can tell you who won American idol
or an oscar but news reports of the tests on their properties they
have ignored. Schofield School was built on a Detroit dump. The
Detroit area had many wind and water powered mills. Some were used
to pump water like in Center Line and some were to grind grain. In
1830 there was a mill at Gratiot and Jefferson.

Indian
Life

Indians lived in
families. Most of their daily activities centered on getting food
clothing and shelter. The men hunted and or farmed and the women and
children prepared the food and did most of the other tasks. In
Michigan hunting gathering and fishing provided them more food than
farming. They were skilled at hunting and fishing. They knew which
plants were good for food and which for medicine.

Marriage was for
survival not love at ages 12-15 for the girls and 15-20 for the men.
The relatives chose the partners. The boy’s family usually
gave presents to the bride’s family. The young couple then
moved in with relatives. This was called extended family. Everyone
shared the daily work and raising of children. If the woman died her
family would probably be expected to give her husband another
unmarried daughter to replace her. Most Indian families were small
because many babies died young. Indian children did not go to school
they helped with the work thereby learning how things were done. To
be recognized as a man the teenage boy usually had to prove that he
could live along in the wilderness. Family groups were often larger
than the extended familiar. Families with a common ancestor were
part of a clan. Members of the clan helped each other. When an
Indian was, hungry s/he just went to the local wilderness for food.
A pointed stick would spear fish and the bow provided venison. The
wilderness provided many wild plants for food some of which were
really good to eat such as wild berries and nuts Maple sap was sweet
and could be used to make maple sugar. Tea was made from sassafras
and wintergreen. The oak tree provided acorns from which flour was
made. Meat was preserved by drying it. Trail snacks were made from
dried foods such as pemmican which consisted of dried meats grease
and berries. Most North American animals are edible so if a deer
wasn’t found there were rabbits, squirrels possums raccoon,
beaver etc. The main crops were corn, beans and squash. Wild rice
grows in places. There was wild honey in the woods and maple sugar
from sugar maples.

Clothing consisted of
all natural materials such as animal skins which had been tanned.
For men deerskin shirts leggings and breech cloths were most common
and for woman simple aprons or skirts. Bird feathers were often used
for decoration. The beads and wampum came mostly from trading.
Wampum consists of beads of polished shells strung in strands,
belts, or sashes and used Indians as money, ceremonial pledges, and
ornaments.

Jesuit missionaries
who came to live among the Indians reported to their superiors in
France. These reports are noted in “The Jesuit Relations and
Allied Documents by R. G. Thwaites (ed).” Many of the
missionaries stated that “the Indians were handsome and
well-proportioned, and that their health and stamina were better
then that of the Europeans, and that their senses were highly
developed. The liberality and hospitality of the natives also
received frequent comment. Parental love was carried so far that
children were not disciplined. They reported. Among the
characteristics of Indian life that shocked the Jesuits were sexual
immorality, promiscuity, and lewdness. The Indian's lack of
cleanliness, his gluttony, and his barbarity also were noted and
condemned by the Jesuits. On the other hand, the stoicism of the
natives and their capacity for suffering pain without wincing often
excited the admiration of the missionaries. In his natural state the
Indian seemed to be capable at once of high nobility and abysmal
depravity.” (J. H. Kennedy, Jesuit and Savage in New France p
131 quoted by Willis F Dunbar 37)

Shelters consisted of
dome shaped huts made of saplings fixed into the ground bent over
and tied covered with barks, wood and skins. (Willis F Dunbar 29)
Others made large rectangular dwellings called long houses which
several families shared. Their tools consisted of shaped stones,
clubs, spears, bows, arrows, hooks, traps nets, chemicals and hand
tools of bone or shell. Often the villages had tall stake fences
around them called palisades for protection against enemies. And at
night there was howling of the wolves outside the palisade.

Savages
then and now

Wars occurred
frequently. “War was a common occurrence in Indian life.”
“The Indians were often cruel in inflicting torture upon their
captives.” “Scalps were sometimes collected as trophies
of war.” (Willis F Dunbar 33) Indians not only killed and
tortured even child captives but they often ate them. Thousands of
settlers were cruely tortured, killed and scalped. The use of the
word savage is certainly fitting for these low lifes. Savage
meaning: lacking the restraints normal to civilized human beings
also uncivilized fierce, ferocious criminal malicious, fierce,
barbarous, wild, uncultivated, ignorant. We have a bunch of
criminals today that fit this description. They injure, torture and
sometimes kill innocent animals and people. Some walk our streets.
Many are found in Detroit the Murder Capital.

General Cass related
an experience of James May “During the American Revolutionary
war, when the Indian war-parties approached Detroit, they always
gave the war and death whoops, so that the inhabitants, who were
acquainted with their customs, knew the number of scalps they had
brought and of prisoners they had taken...Soon after I arrived in
Detroit, the great war party which had captured Ruddle's Station in
Kentucky, returned from that expedition. Hearing the usual signals
of success, I walked out of town and soon met the party. The squaws
and young Indians had ranged themselves on the side of the road,
with sticks and clubs, and were whipping the prisoners with great
severity. Among these were two young girls, thirteen or fourteen
years old who escaped from the party and ran for protection to me
and to a naval officer. I found the naval officer, who was with me
the preceding day, already there.” Later both he and the naval
officer were severely reprimanded for helping the poor children.
Those poor children had probably witnessed their parents being
killed and scalped and were cruelly and severely being whipped and
beaten just because they were captives. (Farmer p262) If one has any
doubt about the reason Indians were referred to as savages this
should make it very clear. Even the squaws and Indian children were
participating in this totally unnecessary cruelty.

“William McVey
related the following observation to Judge Witherell which occurred
Sept 15, 1814. “David and William Burbank and myself were
sitting down [near the fort] Mr McMillan and Archy passed us. We
spoke to them about some apples they were eating. They passed on
towards some cows that were feeding” nearby ...When they
approached within gunshot of some bushes we saw three of four guns
fired, and Mr McMillan fall. The Indians instantly dashed upon
him and took off his scalp. Archy, on seeing that his father was
killed, turned and ran towards us with all the speed that his little
legs could supply. A savage on horseback pursued him...The savage
sprang from his horse, seized the boy and dragged him off to the
woods,” (farmer 285)

“After the
massacre at the Raisin, the few who were judged able to march were
taken to Malden and Detroit, but when any of them gave out they
were tomahawked without mercy. Those who could scarcely walk on
account of wounded and bleeding feet were compelled to dance on the
frozen ground for the amusement of the savages.” (Farmer
280)

American Scalps were
paraded daily thru Detroit. In 1790 scalps of American soldiers
were paraded daily thru the streets of Detroit accompanied by the
demoniac scalp-yells of the warriors who had taken them. (Farmer
p265)

Historian Wesley
Arnold adds that the word savages also includes the French, British,
Germans, Spanish, Dutch and Americans who participated in cruel and
savage acts against peaceful men women and children back then and by
others even in the 21st century. Truthfully, historically
this is the human story, wars, killing, cruelty, on and on. This is
why mankind needs a code of conduct agreed on universally and
enforced universally. And it may actually happen in the lifetime of
my grandchildren when intelligent machines may be given the power to
enforce disarmament and prevent wars. Of course that remains to be
seen.

In the late 1500’s
five tribes the Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida, Mohawk and Seneca formed
the Iroquois nation under Chief Hiawatha. Indians believed in
spirits. Complicated ceremonies were common. They also wore ugly
masks during disease curing rituals. (Viola and National Geographic)

Bloody
Invasions

The Hurons told many
tales of invasions by tribes from the North such as the Chippewas,
Ottawas, and Pottawatomies. Many of them were slaughtered by the
other Iroquois during the cruel Indian wars from 1600-1820. The
French set the Algonquians and Hurons against the English and
Iroquois. The English set the Iroquois against the French, Americans
and Hurons. The French explorer Champlain around 1612 and a company
of Frenchmen while cultivating friendship with Algonquin tribes and
the Huron Indians who lived in the vicinity of Quebec accompanied
these Indians on a war party against their dreaded enemies the
Iroquois. “The fire arms used by the French in the ensuing
struggle threw the Iroquois into panic-stricken flight and incurred
their lasting enmity. (Willis F Dunbar 49) This resulted in the
Iroquois fighting the French and their Indian allies severely for
the next 200 years. The Iroquois later slaughtered the Hurons and
the few survivors fled Michigan. Then around 1650 the Iroquois
attacked other tribes. “Lower Michigan was almost entirely
depopulated. (Willis F Dunbar 53) “The Lower Peninsula of
Michigan continued for many years to be a kind of no man's land
between the fierce Iroquois warriors of the East and the tribes that
inhabited what is now Wisconsin and Upper Michigan. (Willis F Dunbar
64) About 1689 St Lawrence settlements were repeatedly raided, “and
on one of these forays the bloodthirsty Iroquois slaughtered two
hundred people in the little village of La Chine.” (Willis F
Dunbar 77)

The Dutch furnished
muskets and the English furnished scalping knives, guns and bought
scalps. Thousands of innocent settlers were killed as well as
neutral Indians. Some of those killed may well have been some of the
first settlers in this area. The area of Center Line was covered
with thick forest of Oak, Beech, Maple, Black Walnut, Pine and other
trees. Bear Creek and Red Run had pure water then. However it may
have been named Red Run because occasions of the blood in the water
resulting from children and families who lived on the banks of this
creek being needlessly butchered by killers. This happened because
there was no “Rule of Law”, rather it was rule of brute
force.

Explorers found that
Warren and Center Line were covered with thick forests and damp
areas. Parts of the year they were damp and other times they were
dry.

If all of the above
time was on a regular clock face, the last fraction of the last
second would be when mankind appeared in Michigan several thousand
years ago. I rediscovered a mound that was built by them while
working on hiking merit badge as a scout. It was taller than I was
and pyramid shaped but the top was round probably from erosion.
American Indians spoke hundreds of different languages. There were
countless tribes over time, most of which are unknown.. This area
was a hunting ground and home for thousands of years, long before
our direct ancestors came over on boats from Europe. The Indians did
not have written laws. Tribes had traditions they sometimes followed
but varied from them at the whim of the ruling chief or warrior.
Most of the time they were kind. Some prepared for war. Some
practiced war. They had to in order to survive against other
war-like people. They practiced slavery and extreme cruelty at times
including torture. On the other hand they often lived in harmony
with others and with nature. The Indians have interesting
traditions. They got to know nature by living in it and using it.
They got to know the local plants and what they were good for. Some
like cattails were good for many things such as food, mats, baskets,
bedding, baby diapers, and fire starters. These peoples did not
write or read. They kept their history as oral traditions in the
form of stories told at campfires. Their dances tell stories. Most
of our ancestors also were in tribes and lived like the Indians did.
There are interesting books about their way of life in the Library.
You can still visit a real Indian pow-wow, see their dances and talk
to real Indians. For more information see South Eastern Michigan
Indians 26641 Lawrence Street Center Line, Michigan 48015 Phone:
(810) 756-1350 E-mail: semii@mail.com POW WOWS are held almost year
round.

What
did we learn from the Indians?

First we learned from
them where things were like the lakes, streams and other resources.
Then we learned the use of corn, potatoes, tobacco, squash, beans,
pumpkins, melons, maple sap, maple sugar, tobacco and uses for many
other native plants. Corn was unknown to Europeans and was a
lifesaver food crop as wheat did not do well until after the ground
had been tilled several times. We learned how to make birch bark
canoes, shelters, hunting and fishing techniques and that people can
live off of the land without modern conveniences. We learned that
primitive man can be very intelligent very kind, or very cruel. They
could also do things we couldn’t like make fires by twirling a
stick and going for days on next to no food. The Indians also
introduced Europeans to their sacred plant tobacco.

What did
the Indians learn from the White Man?

They learned to use
European tools, clothes and culture. They learned that the white
man would take over their land by moving in, making treaties with
promises then breaking those promises. The Indians were
primitive people with no concept of land ownership. Michigan
belonged to everyone and each was to take from it only what they
needed. The land belonged to all and was for the use of all. Before
the white man came all tribes were virtually self-reliant. (Willis F
Dunbar 31) The Indians were promised lands by sacred treaty then the
white man would come in with armies and modern weapons and kill or
remove the Indians from the land that was already by law given to
the Indians. And Europeans brought diseases such as measles,
smallpox and tuberculosis to which the Indians had no resistance at
all, So thousands died

Another quirk was that
the Indians for the most part adopted and used European items. They
liked metal tools because they were more efficient. Metal pots were
superior than earthen pots. Guns were more effective for hunting and
killing enemies. Non Indian clothing and blankets were better and
more comfortable. The Indians adopted white man's items and tools
and within a generation seemed to forget how to be self sufficient.
By the mid 1700s Michigan Indians were almost dependent upon
Europeans trade goods. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 8) By the 1700s most
Indian bands were more driven to get furs than to hunt or raise
crops for their own families. The introduction of whiskey to Indian
culture resulted in many Indians selling personal and family
possessions and neglecting getting food for themselves and their
families. That and with the white-induced diseases accounted for
gradual Indian population decline to around 8,000 by 1900. (Lawrence
E. Ziewacz 9) Of course some of this was due to warfare. The Indians
learned that the white man was not looking out for there welfare
rather was cheating them in every way possible. “The worse
curse was the white-man's fire-water. The Indians were utterly
unable to control their desire for rum, brandy, or whiskey once they
had had a taste of it, and untold numbers were completely debauched
by its use. The Indians became pawns in the white-man's wars.”
(Willis F Dunbar 36) And the Indians were denied both moral and
legal justice. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 11)

To the early pioneers
the Indians were mostly deadly enemy. Some Indians such as the
Delawares were Christians and were very friendly and kind. Others
like the roving bands of paid scalpers hired by the English would
butcher an entire family just for the scalps. There was much
needless violence practiced by the English, French, American
settlers and Indians. We must learn that there are better ways to
settle disputes than brute force.

Who were
the first Europeans in the area?

We simply have no
records of the Vikings coming here although they preceded Columbus
to America. Leif Ericson (c. 970 – c. 1020) was a Norse
explorer who is regarded as the first European to land in North
America (excluding Greenland), nearly five hundred years before
Christopher Columbus. According to the Sagas of Icelanders, he
established a Norse settlement at Vinland, Newfoundland and
Labrador, Canada. It is believed that Leif was born in Iceland, the
son of Erik Thorvaldsson known as Erik the Red. (Wikipedia)

An account published
in Paris in 1632 indicates that Samuel de Champlain, founder of
Canada sent Etienne Brule west from Georgian Bay on lake Huron. In
1634 Jean Nicolet was sent by Champlain to explore down into Lake
Michigan. Following this fur traders and adventurers explored the
Michigan region. They made friends with the Indians by giving them
gifts. They traveled far and wide in Michigan and may have even
explored the Huron River (later became the Clinton). But they did
not publish their notes if they even took any because this was
secret state business. This was New France and their job was to
obtain furs. It is almost certain that Cadillac was not the first
European in the area but no records have come to light with any
actual names. What is important is that they respected the Indians
and found a way to trade with them peacefully. They learned the
languages and often married into the culture.

The Indians were
living in the stone age which required intensive laborious work to
hunt and just live. The Indians began acquiring metal tools,
clothes, blankets and learning the ways of the Europeans. The
Indians realized that a metal knife required a lot less work to use
than a stone one. Soon the Indians were traded guns which were much
more effective for hunting and against enemies. The Indians also
learned to beg, bargain and trade. They were told that settlers
would take their lands and force them out. The Indians discovered
this was true from other tribes further east who had been displaced.
So who the actual first foreigners were doesn't matter. The
Europeans who counted were the French who had great influence on the
Indians and their culture. The French were there to make money and
to save souls. Several French missionaries were sent to Michigan.
French explorers explored Michigan to an extent that when La salle
left Michigan for the last time in 1683 the French were well
acquainted with most of Michigan. (Willis F Dunbar 71)

Our
area was abounding in wildlife.

Our area was also home
to some ancient animals such as the American mastodon, saber toothed
cats, short legged rhinoceros, long horned bison, giant ground
sloth, and an early camel all millions of years ago. On July 24,
1701, Antoine De La Mothe Cadillac and his command of about one
hundred men, which included his nine-year-old son Antoine, landed at
the foot of a thirty-foot cliff along the Detroit River. Cadillac
built here Fort Pontchartrain du De Troit (the straits). This later
became the city of Detroit. Madame Cadillac, several months later,
traveled one thousand miles by canoe to join her husband, becoming
the first European woman in Michigan. Cadillac left Detroit in 1710.
The Michigan Historical library states that his settlement had
become home to several thousand Native Americans, but only a handful
of French Canadians.

What
was the area like in 1701? What did Cadillac find?

In 1701 Cadillac wrote
that there were forests of full grown trees or walnut, white oak,
red oak, ash, pine, whitewood, cottonwood, straight as arrows with
no knots and without branches except at the very top. ”Under
these broad walks one sees hundreds of timid deer and faun, also the
squirrel bounding in his eagerness to collect the apples and plums
with which the earth is covered. Here the cautious turkey calls and
conducts her numerous brood to gather the grapes.” Golden
pheasants, the quail, partridge, woodcock, and numerous doves swarm
in the woods and in the country which is dotted with thickets.”
“The fish here are nourished and bathed by living water of
crystal clearness and their great abundance renders them none the
less delicious.” He writes of the prodigious courageous Eagle,
“Swans are so numerous that one would take for lilies the
reeds in which they are crowded together. Luxuriant grass which
fatten woolly buffaloes of magnificent size. Silas Farmer also
states that other early accounts tell of elk, moose, wolves, bears,
rabbits, otters, lynxes, wildcats, beavers, musk-rats, meadow larks,
bobolinks, robins, and humming birds. “so numerous and large,
indeed, were the wild bisons, that the making of garments from their
wool was seriously considered.” In 1824 myriads of wild
pigeons made their roosts in the forests of the country. They were
so numerous that hundreds could easily be killed with a walking
stick. (Silas Farmer p11)

Michigan
is indeed a water wonder land with the most fresh water in the
world.

French
Rule The arrival of the Europeans

In the 1600’s
Europeans were venturing into Michigan. At first most were from
France but also from other countries. They discovered a wilderness
covered with huge trees, white pines over five feet in diameter at
the base and 200 feet tall, abundant wildlife such as beaver, lakes
and streams with fish. 1600-1668 French missionaries and fur traders
ventured into upper Michigan especially the area of Sault Ste Marie.
In 1668, the legendary Jesuit missionary and explorer Fr. Jacques
Marquette named this settlement Sault Ste. Marie, the first “city”
in the Great Lakes region. According to Michigan History magazine
(http://www.michiganhistorymagazine.com/ kids/pdfs/guide1.pdf) When
the French arrived in the upper Great Lakes in the mid-seventeenth
century, they discovered nine Indian tribes that totaled an
estimated 100,000 people. The largest was the Huron, which lived in
the region between Lakes Erie, Ontario and Huron. Tribes living in
present-day Michigan included the Ojibway, the Odawa and the
Potawatomi. Other tribes living in the area included the Menominee,
the Sac (also Sauk), the Fox, the Winnabago and the Miami.”
They shared three beliefs: 1) Spirits were more powerful than men;
2) Nature—the land, animals and plants—belonged to
everyone; and 3) No one had the right to run another person’s
life. Everyone living in an Indian village worked.” “Michigan
Indians were not as warlike as other Native Americans. When they did
fight, it was because another group had moved too close to their
territory. They also fought to avenge a wrong done to one of them by
someone from another village or tribe.” The French exploited
the area for furs. The French gave the Indians beads, blankets,
tomahawks, copper kettles, and guns. (Silas Farmer 227)

The French did
everything they could to settle Canada. Under Jean Talon the “Great
Intendant” which was the title for the manager of the area,
France emptied its prisons, poor houses and orphanages of people and
sent them to Canada. They they encouraged the new settlers to marry
and have large families. Talon also introduced new crops such as
flax and hemp and imported quality livestock. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz
25)

In 1689 the Iroquois
attacked the village of La Chine and massacred 200 French villagers.
The King of France sent in troops but European troops were unskilled
in fighting Indians. Then the French sent voyagers and Indians to
attack English settlements. In one attack against English settlers
at Schenectady sixty residents perished. One of the residents who
escaped stated later “the cruelties committed at said place no
person can write not tongue express; ye women big with child ripped
up and ye children alive thrown into ye flames, and their heads
dashed in pieces against doors and windows.” (Lawrence E.
Ziewacz 35) These needless cruel attacks would spread later to
settlers in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana and further south.

Cadillac had settled
in in Detroit in 1701. He rented land to Frenchmen for money. He
turned the whole area into a wealth building machine for himself. He
encouraged Indians to camp near the fort and trade there. During
trading season as many as 5,000 Indians and hundreds of coureurs de
bois met in Detoit. Cadillac made a small fortune from this fur
trade. (Willis F Dunbar 80) Because the Jesuits were trying to
Christianize the Indians they were not in favor of killing, scalping
and moral debauchery caused by fire water. To celebrate an Ottawa
and Potawatomi foray into the Saginaw region against Iroquois
hunters, which netted thirty scalps and as many prisoners, Cadillac
furnished the victorious Indians, on their return, with enough
brandy so that two hundred of them staged an all-night orgy. (Willis
F Dunbar 80) Cadillac commanded Detroit for nine years. He made many
enemies and extracted the last penny possible from the settlers.
Even his boss Count Pontchartrain reprimanded him and told him that
he was too greedy. (Willis F Dunbar 85) Cadillac had hoped to make a
permanent settlement that would grow in population thru
intermarriage with Indians. He was convinced that this “would
assure Indian loyalty and friendship as well.” (Lawrence E.
Ziewacz 37) He might have succeeded if he weren't so greedy and
obnoxious which got him transferred to Mobile in 1710.

In 1706 a priest was
shot by an Ottawa Indian. The population of Detroit remained fairly
small. In 1708 it only has 63 permanent residents ,200 acres in
cultivation.

It had only a dozen
assorted cattle and a “single forlorn horse.” (Lawrence
E. Ziewacz 38) The French settlers were very laid back and young
French men preferred the quick profits of the fur trade to hard toil
of humble farmers. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 38) The big picture of
course was that the French preferred to preserve the wilderness for
the fur trade rather than make big settlements. So by 1750 the
French even though they claimed all of Canada only had about 50,000
population compared to the English holdings to the south east with a
population of 1.5 million. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 39)

French
Commandants

1701 –
1704 M Antione de la Mothe Cadillac

1704 -
1706 Sieur Alphonse de Tonty

1706,
January to August Sieur de Bourgmont

1706
august to summer of 1711 M Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac

1711 to
June 1712 M Joseph Guyon du Buisson

1712 June
to 1714 Francois Daupin, Sieur de la Forest

1714 Nov
12 to 1717 Lieutenant Jacques Chas Sabrevois

1717 M
Louis de la Poste, Sieur de Louvigny

1717 July
3 to 1720 M Henri Tonty, younger brother of Alphonse

1720 M
Charles Joseph, Sieur de Noyelle

1720 to
November 10, 1727 (when he died) Sieur Alphonse de Tony

1727
December 19 to M le Chevalier de Lepermouche

1728 M
Jean Baptiste Deschaillons de St Ours

1728 M
Charles Joseph, Sieur de Noyelle

1728 to
June 10, 1734 M de Boishebert

1734 June
10 to Hugues Jacques Pean Sieur de Livandiere

1734-1738
Lieutenant Jacques Charles Sabrevois

1738-1741
M Charles Joseph Sieur de Noyelle

1741,
July 28, to 1742, Pierre Poyen de Noyan

1742-1743
Pierre de Celeron, Sieur de Blainville

1743-1747
M Joseph Lemoyne, Chevalier de Longueuil

1749-
Lieutenant Jacques Charles Sabrevois

1751,
February 15, to March 19, 1754, Pierre de Celeron, Sieur de
Blainville

since
Europe was largely depleted of fur bearing animals there was a big
demand for furs in Europe. The pelts that were shipped to Europe
included Beaver, bear, elk, deer, martin, raccoon, mink, muskrat,
opossum, lynx, wolf, and fox. (Willis F Dunbar 90) The French fur
traders were adventurous young men who lived among the Indians and
took Indian wives. It is estimated that there were at least 800 of
them. Others were voyageurs who were colorful characters who paddled
hundreds of miles up swift streams, carrying canoes on their backs
singing as they went. (Willis F Dunbar 92) They traded
bright-colored beads, cloth, shawls, handkerchiefs, ribbons, sleigh
bells, knives, jew's harps, shot, powder, tobacco, blankets, and
brandy. They often cheated the Indians. (Willis F Dunbar 92) They
ate corn boiled in strong lye, the hulls removed, ant the kernels
washed and dried and bear or other meat and pork or fat. (Willis F
Dunbar 92)

By 1710 nearly 6000
Indians from many tribes were visiting near the area of the Fort at
Detroit trying to get the French to give them things. This meant
that they were hunting in Center Line . In the past the French had
given lots of gifts to the Indians. But the King of France had
ordered an end to buying furs and an end to the giving of gifts.
This angered the Indians and led to the murders of many French fur
traders. Soon the tribes were fighting amongst themselves for
territory. In 1712 allied Indians massacred about 1000 Fox Indians.

1745 Parties You don’t
want to go to this party!

Into this wonderful
land of beauty and peace, again as in countless times before, came
strangers and killed the peaceful settlers. Men, women and children
were needlessly massacred. Why?

Silas points out that
as early as 1745 the French outfitted war excursion parties. These
killed scalped, tortured any settler or anyone that they did not
like. They also took many women and children as slaves.

I quote Silas “The
fact is undoubted and indisputable that at Detroit and other posts
under both French and English rule, the Indians received goods in
payment for human scalps as regularly as for coon and muskrat
skins.” (Farmer p232)

On August 31, 1747 a
settler named Martineau wandered a little to far from the fort and
was scalped by four Indians.(Farmer 232)

George
Washington

Colonel George
Washington in 1753 on his return trip from interviewing the French
commandant was himself narrowly escaped being massacred by the
Indians. (Farmer p232)

Cannibals

French residents of
Detroit in 1756 stated that Iroquois actually ate the flesh of
persons slain in battle. (Farmer p 322) History records many
incidents of this.

In November of 1757 a
party of three hundred Canadians and Indians fell upon the German
settlers killed forty took one hundred and fifty captives and
carried off an immense quantity of provisions and livestock. (Farmer
p 233)

During French rule
four kings and three regents exercised authority over Center Line
Henry IV Mary de Medici, Louis XIII, Anne, Louis XIV, Louis XV. They
wanted power wealth and comfort for themselves. They did not care
about our ancestors or their subjects.

The
Language Problem

Back in the past there
were over 10,000 languages. Now there are still over a thousand
languages spoken around the world and English is understood by only
about ten percent of all humans.

We need an “auxiliary
international vocabulary” for use between speakers of
different languages.

Humans need to
understand each other especially in emergencies. If you look at any
world almanac’s history section you will see that mankind’s
history is filled with thousands of years of senseless unnecessary
violence that continues into today. Today we still have Americans
and thousands of other humans dying around the world in senseless
and needless violence often set off by communication failure. This
failure is due to not being able to understand the hundreds of
languages spoken in the world and due to the absurd notion that most
people in the world are going to learn English. In fact most people
in the world don’t have time to learn English with all of its
irregularities and ambiguous words, and they certainly will not
learn it in our lifetime. So we need an easy to learn international
vocabulary. There is one which has been proved successful called
Esperanto. (No it is not Spanish, rather an international easy to
learn vocabulary. See link “International Vocabulary” on
the website macombhistory.us

French
settlers

There were many French
settlers around Detroit and northward mostly along the banks of the
Detroit River and lake St Clair. They had very long narrow farms
that touched on the water’s edge. They were mostly a happy
peaceful lot. Reports from Detroit were that it was a fairly happy
place where almost everyone were friends. Any trouble was dealt with
quickly by the military stationed there. The French settler’s
friendliness to the Indians probably saved their lives later. But
the Indians continually begged for things.

Between 1689 and 1763
France and Great Britain fought four wars. The French and Indian War
went from 1754-1760 was really the struggle between the French and
the British for domination of North America. The British defeated
the French and took control of Canada, Michigan and the fur trade.
About 160 years of French rule came to an end in 1760.

The
Bloody British

By 1750 the British
colonies had 1.5 million people compared with Canada with 50,000. In
1755 British General Braddock with1,500 soldiers began to attack the
French and their Indian allies. The general “refused to heed
the advice of the colonial military men, whom he considered
untutored in the art of war.” (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 40) The
general had 100 miles to go thru the woods so he decided to build a
road. This process was noisy and slow and alerted the enemy who
snuck up on his tires soldiers at dawn and killed Braddock and 977
of his soldiers.

British Rule began in
Michigan on November 29 1760 when British Major Robert Rogers and
his command arrived at Detroit. At that time there were 300 houses
and 2,000 inhabitants. The English were also after furs and wanted
to own North America.

The British did not
treat the Indians as well as the French did. They did not give out
as many gifts and they set the Indian tribes against each other and
against American settlers. The Indians were duped by Europeans into
killing one another and killing Europeans and later killing American
settlers. In general the Indians were cheated out of their lands,
displaced sometimes murdered by Europeans and Americans and
sometimes they retaliated. A few of their descendants still live in
Macomb County.

The Bloody British
used all the means they could to get the Indians to kill settlers.
(Farmer 233, 261) The British led raiding parties of Indians to kill
settlers and then paid them for the scalps.

The British flag flew
over Michigan for thirty-six years from 1760-1796 and off an on
until after the war of 1812 and it took a few years after that. for
all of the sympathizers to clear out. Then the British still had
major control over some Indians which caused some settlers to be
killed up to 1830. So if one is counting years that the British had
major influence in the Michigan area the total would probably be
around seventy years of bloody British sponsored killings.

English
Commanding Officers

1760
Major Robert Rogers

1760 to
1763 Major Donald Campbell

1763 to
August 31, 1764 Major Henry Gladwin

1764
Colonel John Bradstreet

1765
Colonel John Campbell

1766, Aug
26 Major Robert Bayard

1767-1769
Captain George Turnbull

1770 June
2, to September, Major T Bruce

1770,
September, to January 8, 1772 James Stephenson

1772
Major Etherington

1772-1774
Major Henry Bassett

1774
Major R B Lernoult

1775
Captain Montpasant

1775
Major Arent Schuyler De Peyster

1776
Captain Lord

1778
December, to October, 1779 Major Richard Beringer Lernoult

1779,
October, to June 1, 1784, Major Arent Schuyler De Peyster

Note
Henry Hamilton the hair buyer was the British Lieutenant Governor of
Detroit in 1779 This position was higher than simply the post
commander.

The above
men were actually absolute dictators. De Peyster hanged a woman. Hit
a person with his cane and had a person trampled. In 1763 (Farmer
171) Hamilton hanged people in 1776.

We in
our time have rule by law. They had rule by brute force.

When word of the
American Revolution came in most of the French settlers were more
sympathetic to the Americans than to the British. The British did
not want American settlers coming into the area so they had them
killed.

To discourage
settlers, rumors were spread that the Center Line area was as an
impassable swamp.

The British gave bands
of Indians guns, gun powder, tomahawks and scalping knives. The
British actually bought scalps and led raiding parties against
settlers, and any Indian family not aligned with them. Again it was
rule by brute force rather than rule by law. Hundreds of Michigan
settlers and Indians were brutally tortured and scalped including
children. Settlers in the Macomb county area did not escape this
terrible fate.

Pontiac’s
rebellion

In late April 1763
Ottawa war chief Pontiac called a grand council of the tribes in the
vicinity of Detroit and urged them to join him in an attack upon the
British fort. Pontiac proposed a plan to capture Fort Detroit. On
the morning of May 7, fifty warriors accompanied him to the fort,
each carrying a concealed tomahawk or knife. Pontiac carried a
green-and-white wampum belt (shells embroidered into a belt). Once
inside the fort, he would signal the attack by turning the belt
over. The fort’s commander, Major Henry Gladwin, had learned
of the plan and Pontiac’s followers found themselves
outnumbered by the British redcoats, who were armed and ready.
Pontiac and his men left the fort. The next day the Indians returned
and asked to be allowed into the fort. Gladwin refused. Pontiac then
placed Detroit under siege. Detroit’s defenders worried about
flaming arrows and suffered a constant shortage of supplies, yet,
the Indians failed to close Gladwin’s water link to the east
and force the fort’s surrender. Several other British forts
fell. If there were any American settlers in Center Line they were
probably butchered. But by fall, Pontiac’s warriors needed to
return to their families and the siege ended.

An Indian woman saved
the fort at Detroit. She was a member of Pontiac’s tribe and
noticed that warriors had obtained files to cut down their gun
barrels to make concealed weapons. She found out that they were
going to massacre the people in the fort. So she went to see the
fort commander and informed him of the plot. Pontiac found out about
it and repeatedly beat her to near death.

Although there was no
fighting in Michigan during the American Revolution except for the
killing of settlers, Detroit was the center of British power in the
west. Word of the American Revolution reached the frontier of which
the Detroit area was a part. The British told the Indians that the
American settlers would be taking their land. The British gave bands
of Indians guns, powder, tomahawks and scalping knives. Raids on
American settlements in the east were organized from Detroit.
Thousands of American settlers died because of the raiders.

On May 9 1763 without
provocation an old woman and her two sons were murdered and scalped.
On Belle Isle a settler by the name of Mr Fisher and his wife were
also murdered and their two children taken never to be seen again.
This happened where the Scott memorial is now n Belle Isle. Over 100
English traders were murdered that summer. The Indians also cruelly
tortured many people. (Ferris Lewis p51)

The
Bloody Red Run?

Legend is that the Red
Run River got its name from the red color of the water from the
butchery of Chief Pontiac's warriors killing others at the banks of
the river. Still others claim color was from cranberries. Truth is
we don't know.

Hamilton
the Hair Buyer

The British Governor
of Detroit became known as "Hamilton the Hair Buyer"
because he bought scalps. Englishmen sometimes led the Indians on
raids on American settlers. Ferris Lewis in his book My State and
Its Story states "So murderous were these raids that the year
1777 is known in American History as the year of the three bloody
sevens. Mutilated bodies with scalps gone, smoldering ashes of what
was once a settler's cabin on the frontier, tales of horror and
massacre; these marked the trail of the Indian raiders. Hundreds of
settlers thus perished before the Indians' guns and tomahawks."
Many innocent people were also cruelly tortured. Why did the Indians
gather scalps? Who paid them for the scalps and provided this
primitive people with scalping knives? (Ferris Lewis p 57)

The Treaty of Paris in
1783, obligated the British leave Detroit it took them thirteen
years and some naval battle losses before they left. British rule
which began in 1760 ended by 1815. They left a bloody 55 year
legacy. They earned the title Bloody British.

There were small bands
of Indians that lived just outside of the fort at Detroit from 1701
-1820. For the most part they were friendly. But hey begged a lot.

The following is
paraphrased from an article on the Hair Buyer which does not quote
the source appears at
http://www.essortment.com/all/henryhamilton_rbxy.htm

Henry Hamilton was he
British Lieutenant Governor of Detroit in 1777 who was widely known
on the frontier as the hair Buyer. He was the power behind deadly
Indian raids to American settlements. He bought American scalps from
these raids.

The British had
captured Vincennes which was at that time more or less the capital
of the region. George Rogers Clark felt that his small force of
Kentucky riflemen was no match against the British unless he could
mount a surprise attack. In the middle of winter he and his men set
out on February 6 to go overland. Clark's men struggled, waded thru
wet mud, forded wet areas where they had to break the ice. They had
insufficient clothing and here half starving. Finally they achieved
a surprise attack and after a struggle Hamilton surrendered February
25, 1779\. During negotiations, for Hamilton's surrender Clark's men
intercepted a war party on it’s way to Hamilton to present
American scalps for payment. The Indians were in possession of
scalps. They were tied to a fence and killed in view of the British
defenders of the fort. Hamilton surrendered. Clark immediately had
Hamilton clamped in irons. There was great hatred for Hamilton. Even
Thomas Jefferson, ordered him shackled in irons and thrown into a
dungeon. The net effect was to greatly weaken the British power and
their influence over the Indians. To weaken the Indians further
Clark sent agents to Indian tribes causing several tribes to drop
hostilities.

Daniel Boone was held
by Hamilton in Detroit he was treated with unusual courtesy.

When Hamilton was
imprisoned by Jefferson, Boone made a visit to see him.

In 1781 Hamilton was
released in a prisoner exchange. and became Governor of Quebec and
later Governor of Bermuda.

As the Indians
gradually became aware that the French and British were growing
weaker and that the Americans were growing stronger they continued
to fight. General Josiah Harnar moved so slowly that the Indians
easily could keep track of him and when the time was right attack.
In October 1790 a detachment was ambushed and 183 men killed. In
1791 a force of 3,000 men under command of Governor St Clair set out
from Fort Washington. When his tired army reached the Maumee River
and pitched their tents for the night they did not post adequate
guards. The camp was quietly surrounded, then furiously attacked.
Leaving 630 dead and 383 wounded behind. After this victory the
Indians fell mercilessly on settlers who were massacred along with
their wives and children. (Willis F Dunbar 169, 170) Following this
President George Washington called on young “Mad Anthony”
Wayne who spent the next year training his troops. Wayne took his
army to the same location where St Clair's army was defeated. The
Indians under Chief Little Turtle with 2000 braves was confident
that they would have a repeat victory attacked in earnest but this
time the troops were ready and defeated the Indians. (Willis F
Dunbar 170) Wayne reported that he had proof that the British were
behind the attack and supplied them with supplies and ammunition. In
1974 a battle between Wayne's army and a large Indian force under
Tecumseh a young Shawnee warrior took place in a place called Fallen
Timbers. Wayne was completely victorious. This victory broke the
back of the Indian resistance. The Indians realizing that their
cause was useless settled for as much as they could get in goods by
ceding large areas of land to the Americans in the Treaty of
Greenville in 1795. (Willis F Dunbar 171)

Detroit
had about 500 inhabitants in 1796.

The Jay treaty of 1794
was signed in Europe and the British agreed to abandon its forts by
June 1 1796. On July 11 1796 Captain Moses Porter raised the Stars
and Stripes over Detroit for the first time. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz
57)

It contained mostly
French inhabitants who spoke French. The merchants and traders were
mainly English and Scotch. There were a few Americans and both
Indian and Negro slaves. Those who held slaves were allowed to keep
them when the Americans took over as they were considered property.
(Willis F Dunbar 176) Fort Lernoult so named by the British was
renamed Fort Detroit. Within it were barracks for the troops, and
shops for the carpenter, baker and armorer. (Willis F Dunbar 176)
Dunbar states that below the fort was the town which consisted of
about a hundred mostly log houses. Only a few were frame dwellings.
In the river were sloops, schooners, canoes and other kinds of
craft. In the town were also shops and taverns. The whole river had
ribbon farms on both sides. (Willis F Dunbar 176) Laws were enforced
by justices who defined crimes and punishments. Flogging, fines and
standing in the stocks were the standard punishments. For lesser
infractions. (Willis F Dunbar 179) Center Line was no-man's land in
the wilderness.

What
the settlers had to say about the Indians

Here is what one
settler reported about the Indians: The women cultivated Indian
corn, beans, peas, squashes and melons. The Indians danced, and play
games such as la crosse. In summer most of the men went naked except
for a breech cloth and moccasins. Some wear fancy clothes with lots
of vermillion and buffalo hide robes in the winter. many paint their
bodies in colorful colors. They often play village against village
with heavy betting. (Farmer p 322)

Regarding the Hurons
Silas quotes a French memoir. They are the most industrious nation
they can be seen the scarcely dance are a always at work raise a
very large amount of Indian corn, peas, beans, some grow wheat but
they construct their huts entirely of bark. very strong and solid
very lofty and very long in arch like arbors. Their fort is strongly
encircled with pickets and bastions well redoubled and have strong
gates. They are the most faithful nation to the French and most
expert hunters we have. Their cabins are divided into sleeping
compartments which contain their misirague and are very clean. They
are the bravest of all nations and possess considerable talent. They
are well clad. Some of them wear close overcoats the men are always
hunting summer and winter and the women work. When they go hunting
in the fall a goodly number remain to guard their fort. The old
women and through out the winter the other women who remain gather
wood in large quantity. The soil is very fertile. Indian corn grows
there to the height of ten to twelve feet. Their fields are very
clean and very extensive. Not the smallest weed is to be seen in
them. (Farmer p 322)

Christian
Indians Built Michigan's First Road here

1783 peaceful
Christian Delaware Indians, escaping from marauding American
militia, sought refuge on the Clinton River on land granted by the
Chippewa. They were ministered to by the Moravian missionaries. They
wanted to provide their good neighbors and themselves with a road
that could get their corn to the mill in Detroit. A road was needed
because the ground was often too muddy for wagons. By 1786 this
group of surviving, Moravian Christian Indians had built the first
inland road in Michigan in order to carry their wheat to the mill on
Tremble Creek. It ran 23 and one half miles from what is now
Southwest Mt. Clemens along the south branch of the Clinton River,
along Red Run, then heading south along Bear Creek down what is now
Sherwood, then Southeast along Connor which was along Tremble's
Creek now Connor's Creek to Tremble's mill. It was at the point
where ten mile road crossed this old trail road that Kunrod’s
corners was established which eventually lead to the creation of
Center Line. What a wonderful legacy they left to our American
pioneers after their tribe had been brutally massacred by the
Americans. Oh, their reward was to be forced off of their settlement
again. The first settlers may have followed this plank road that the
Peaceful Indians had built along the Red Run Creek to a higher spot
near what is now Mound Road.

Some Indians were very
trustworthy and had accounts with local merchants. In 1815 there
probably 40,000 Indians in the State of Michigan. 1825 30,000 by
1880 10,141.

General Cass related
an experience of James May “During the American Revolutionary
war, when the Indian war-parties approached Detroit, they always
gave the war and death whoops, so that the inhabitants, who were
acquainted with their customs, knew the number of scalps they had
brought and of prisoners they had taken...Soon after I arrived in
Detroit, the great war party which had captured Ruddle's Station in
Kentucky, returned from that expedition. Hearing the usual signals
of success, I walked out of town and soon met the party. The squaws
and young Indians had ranged themselves on the side of the road,
with sticks and clubs, and were whipping the prisoners with great
severity. Among these were two young girls, thirteen or fourteen
years old who escaped from the party and ran for protection to me
and to a naval officer. I found the naval officer, who was with me
the preceding day, already there.” Later both he and the naval
officer were severely reprimanded for helping the poor children.
Those poor children had probably witnessed their parents being
killed and scalped and were cruelly and severely being whipped and
beaten just because they were captives. (Farmer p262) If one has any
doubt about the reason Indians were referred to as savages this
should make it very clear. Even the squaws and Indian children were
participating in this totally unnecessary cruelty.

“William McVey
related the following observation to Judge Witherell which occurred
Sept 15, 1814. “David and William Burbank and myself were
sitting down [near the fort] Mr McMillan and Archy passed us. We
spoke to them about some apples they were eating. They passed on
towards some cows that were feeding” nearby ...When they
approached within gunshot of some bushes we saw three of four guns
fired, and Mr McMillan fall. The Indians instantly dashed upon him
and took off his scalp. Archy, on seeing that his father was killed,
turned and ran towards us with all the speed that his little legs
could supply. A savage on horseback pursued him...The savage sprang
from his horse, seized the boy and dragged him off to the woods,”
(farmer 285)

“After the
massacre at the Raisin, the few who were judged able to march were
taken to Malden and Detroit, but when any of them gave out they were
tomahawked without mercy. Those who could scarcely walk on account
of wounded and bleeding feet were compelled to dance on the frozen
ground for the amusement of the savages.” (Farmer 280)

“On arrival of
the prisoners at Detroit, the inhabitants used great exertions to
procure accommodations for the wounded, and to ransom the prisoners
from the Indians. Thirty-four or more were ransomed here, seven by
Colonel Elliott of Malden, and one by Colonel Francis Baby. Day
after day for a month the prisoners were brought in and with the
characteristic sympathy of their sex, the women left ordinary duties
undone that they might watch at their doors to bargain for the
ransom and relief of the sick and wounded.

“The unfortunate
prisoners were literally hawked about the streets for sale, the
price ranging from ten dollars to eighty dollars. The only question
with the Indians seemed to be, whether they could get more goods for
a live captive than for a fresh scalp. One account says, “They
even dug up the dead bodies and tore off their scalps that they
might cheat their employers by selling them at the same price as if
taken from the newly dead.” In their efforts to satisfy the
savages and release the noble Kentuckians who had voluntee4ed for
the rescue of Detroit, many citizens absolutely impoverished
themselves. Household valuables, clothing, shawls, and blankets from
the beds, were given in exchange for the captives.” (Farmer
280)

“General Cass in
an article for the American Review for April 1827, shows
conclusively that the British Government did not ransom a single
prisoner during the War of 1812, and that a positive official order
was issued prohibiting American citizens from so doing.”
(Farmer 285)

Even though treaties
were signed by 1783, the British still tried to maintain their power
and influence with the Indians. This embolded the Indians and they
became more hostile killing many Americans. Silas states “Competent
authorities estimate that from 1783 to 1790 not less than three
thousand persons were scalped or made captives by bands from
Detroit.”

This
led to the US Government and groups forming armies to kill the
Indians.

American Scalps were
paraded daily thru Detroit

Sometimes the
Indians won. In 1790 scalps of American soldiers were paraded daily
thru the streets of Detroit accompanied by the demoniac scalp-yells
of the warriors who had taken them. (Farmer p265) Not all
Indians agreed with treaties that cheated them out of their lands
and they continued to fight when ever and where ever they could
often killing innocent settlers.

Having had thousands
of settlers massacred, the Americans went on the attack. They raised
militias and armies. American settlers often cruelly attacked
innocent and harmless Indians such as the Moravians who were gentle,
and peace loving.

General George Rogers
Clark and about five hundred frontiersmen led raids against the
Indians and the French. Their call was that the only good Indian was
a dead Indian.

The American victory
at the Battle of Fallen Timbers, and the presence of Wayne’s
Army, forced the British to leave Michigan. On July 11, 1796, the
American flag was raised over Detroit.

10,000
Americans Kidnapped 1794 Jay’s treaty GET OUT!

The Treaty of Paris
(1783) officially ended the American War for Independence, but
England refused to leave the forts in the Northwest Territory; also
she seized American ships, forcing American sailors to serve in
England's war against France. The British still wanted to own North
America. They also wanted to control the seas. The British captured
over 1000 American ships and kidnapped over 10,000 Americans. They
also tried to stop Americans from trading around the world. They
fired on American ships. This led to the US to declaring war on the
British. In 1794 Jay's Treaty ended British control over Detroit.

Surrendering troops
were massacred (Farmer p280)

In 1781 The Spanish
attacked Michigan at Fort Miami.

William Tucker was
probably the first European person speaking the English language
ever brought into this region, [probably about 1760] who afterward
settled within the county.

In 1796 Christian
Clemens surveyed a half-Indian half-French settlement on the Huron
River (Clinton). He later built the first house there. This area was
a part of New France but it was claimed by the British and
Americans.

American Frontiersman
George Rogers Clark and about 172 frontiersmen led raids against the
Indians and the British. Go to www.statelib.lib.in.us to learn more
about Clark. Why would they do this?

In 1796 General John F
Hamtramck was sent to occupy Detroit for the Americans. This was
July of 1796. At this time Wayne County was formed. The population
was just over 500. This probably did not count Indians. This is down
from the often over 2,000 count when the British ran the place. Many
British loyalists had left for Canada.

In 1796 Wayne County
was formed on paper, named after the general Wayne who defended
American settlers. About that time the British loyalists left for
Canada. Canada was considered enemy territory for many years. Fort
Wayne was later built to protect the US from British attack.

Peaceful
Christians Slaughtered

The Americans are
coming! As the Americans were coming to power there was more
bloodshed and butchery. Into this conflict came brave Christian
missionaries from Moravia a section of Germany. Their congregations
consisted almost entirely of peaceful Indians, part of a band of
Delaware Indians. Some of these migrated to Michigan becoming the
first Protestants in Michigan. Clarence M. Burton the prominent
historian stated "A band of Moravians went to Gnaden-huetten"
(a settlement just west of Mt Clemens on the bank of the Clinton
River) "in the spring of 1782 to collect corn they had planted
the previous fall." They were collecting this to feed their
starving families in Sandusky Ohio when they were taken prisoners by
a band of Americans, then taken to Fort Pitt where they were allowed
to send for their families. These peaceful Christians were no threat
to anyone, "When they had all collected together they were told
they must all die. They begged for mercy. They fell upon their knees
in prayer and while thus engaged one of their captors picked up a
cooper's mallet and with a hasty stride forward he dashed out the
brains of the nearest Indian, whose eyes were closed and hands
uplifted as he still knelt in prayer. Not an Indian stirred as the
murderer proceeded down the line. Again and again he performed the
act of murder until a row of fourteen ghastly corpses marked his
bloody path. Breathless with the awful work, he tossed the mallet to
a companion, saying: "Go on with the glorious work. I have done
pretty well." this was but the opening of the tragedy. The
flood-gates of murder were open. The tide would have its way. Old
men and young men, loving mothers, gentle maidens, and nursing
babies, innocent in the sight of earth and Heaven, meek and
unresisting as lambs led to the slaughter, were massacred outright.
Ninety Six persons were put to death within half an hour." This
was done by the Americans. The British, were also incensed against
these Christian Indians because it was part of the Moravian creed to
be friendly with all people and to take no part in war. The British
could not get the Moravian Christians to make war against the
Americans. Isn't it ironic that the Americans committed this act
against a group of people that would never have hurt them?
Historians feel that those Americans acted in haste without thinking
out what would have been best. Some historians feel that the
language barrier was partly to blame. If some of the parties could
have spoken a super simple language such as Esperanto perhaps they
could have had better understanding and settled the matter with
discussion rather than brute violence.

What was the Indians
crime? None. They were just gathering corn that they themselves had
planted to feed their starving families. It was rule bruit force
rather then rule by law.

The North
West Territory was established on paper July 13, 1787 The Governor
was General St Clair

The Indiana
Territory was established on paper October 1804 The Governor was
General Harrison

The
Michigan Territory was established on paper Jan 1805. The Governor
was General Hull and Cass.

Despite
this the needless killing continued in the territory.

Americans
hoisted the American Flag in Detroit July 11, 1796 but the
killing was not over.

American
Commanding Officers over the Detroit Area (Farmer 227)

1796 July
11, Captain Moses Porter

1796,
July 12, Colonel John F Hamtramck

1796,
Major-General Anthony Wayne

1797,
Major-General James Wilkinson

1797, to
December 17, 1799 Colonel D Strong

1799,
December 17, to February, 1800, Major Henry Burbeck

1800
Colonel Porter

1800-1802,
Major Thomas Hunt

1802 to
April 11, 1803 Colonel J F Hamtramck

1803
Major Henry Burbeck

1803
Major John Whistler

1803
Colonel Thomas Hunt

1805
August, to April 1807 Captain S T Dyson

1809-1811
Captain Jacob Kingsbury

1812 May,
Major John Whistler

1812
July, Colonel Brush

1812,
July, to august 16, 1812 Gen Wm Hull

1813
September 29, General Duncan McArthur

1813
Major=General William Henry Harrison

1813
October, Colonel Lewis Cass

1813
November, Captain Abraham Edwards

1814
February, Colonel Anthony Butler

1814
March Colonel George Croghan

1814 July
Colonel Anthony Butler

1815
January 1 to February 4 Colonel Charles Gratiot

In 1800 95% of working
population engaged in agriculture.

In 1805 Detroit
burned down when sparks from the pipe of the town’s baker fell
into a pile of hay. The resulting fire spread quickly, only the
fort was left standing. Two weeks later the territorial government
was formed in Detroit under American General William Hull.

Our area was part of
the North West Territory until 1815 when it became the Michigan
Territory. In 1805, President Thomas Jefferson signed an act
establishing the Michigan Territory.

Of course it was a
start at law and order, even if it was martial law.

In 1805 The American
emigration had begun and by 1810 Detroit had a population of 750.
The population of the entire Michigan territory was 4762.

According to reports
most Indians were beggars and the French and British gave them much.
The Americans had to feed them. They even asked for free blacksmith
service. They did not knock but just came in and begged. This
continued all year. By 1825 they were becoming a big nuisance. Some
would get drunk and lay around. (Farmer p323)

They
fooled a general

In 1812 American
General Hull first invaded Canada then without good reason retreated
to his strong Fort at Detroit. General Hull after being attacked
surrendered his force of over 2,000 and the heavily armed fort at
Detroit to a much smaller force led by British General Brock who
with the Indian Chief Tecumseh fooled Hull into thinking they had a
much larger force.

In 1812 General Hull
ordered Fort Dearborn evacuated. Chief Blackbird at the head of a
five hundred-man Pottawatomie and Winnebago ambushed the retreating
party. Wells and Heald led a desperate defensive attack up the dune.
The wagon-train of women and children was left unprotected. In no
time, the Americans were completely surrounded and alone; Half the
soldiers were killed and the local militia force was systematically
wiped out. One bloodthirsty young warrior slipped into a covered
wagon and beheaded twelve children. Mrs. Heald's black slave,
Cicely, was one of two women killed while fighting to save the young
ones. Heald was wounded but alive. Wells was not so lucky. His
head was cut off and his heart eaten by the chiefs who hoped to gain
some of his courage. Despite Heald’s efforts to ransom the
survivors, more were killed after the battle. Others remained Indian
prisoners for almost a year. Paraphrased from
http://www.galafilm.com/1812/e/events/ftdearborn.html

In
January 1813 Red Coats and Indians under Tecumseh surprised and
captured or killed almost a thousand American militiamen on the
River Raisin. This was the bloodiest battle in Michigan history.

In 1813 hundreds of
soldiers died from diseases at Detroit during the fall and winter of
1813. British Colonel Proctor
learned that his military position was hopeless and ordered all
public buildings in Detroit burned and the city evacuated.

The
Battle of Lake Erie,

is
sometimes referred to as the Battle of Put-in-Bay, was fought on 10
September 1813, in Lake
Erie off the coast of Ohio
during the War of
1812. Nine vessels of the United
States Navy defeated under command of Oliver Hazard Perry and
captured six vessels of Great
Britain'sRoyal
Navy. This ensured American control of the lake for the
remainder of the war, which in turn allowed the Americans to recover
Detroit
and win the Battle
of the Thames to break the Indian
confederation of Tecumseh.
It was one of the biggest naval battles of the war of 1812. Although
Perry won the battle on the Niagara, he received the British
surrender on the deck of the recaptured Lawrence to allow the
British to see the terrible price his men had paid.

The
British lost 41 killed and 94 wounded. The surviving crews,
including the wounded, numbered 306. The Americans lost 27 killed
and 96 wounded, of whom 2 later died. The vessels were anchored and
hasty repairs were underway near West Sister Island when Perry
composed his now famous message to Harrison. Scrawled in pencil on
the back of an old envelope, Perry wrote: Dear General: We have met
the enemy and they are ours. Two ships, two brigs, one schooner and
one sloop. Yours with great respect and esteem, O.H. Perry (Willis F
Dunbar 217) and (Wikipedia)

With
lake Erie free of the British General Harrison now with 2,500 troops
attacked the British and forced them to withdraw from Forts Malden
and Detroit. In September 1813 the bloody British evacuated Detroit
but first burned the public buildings. In October 1813 General
Harrison also intercepted 850 British Troops and 800 Indians in
their retreat to Toronto and defeated them at the battle of the
Thames. The Indian chief Tecumseh was killed. The Indians were now
totally defeated. Only scattered resistance remained but was gone by
1830.

On
October 29 1813 President James Madison appointed Cass governor of
the Michigan territory a position he was to have for 18 years.
(Willis F Dunbar 218)

By early 1814 the
young United States was insolvent. The British almost took back the
United States in 1814. They beat the American navy. They marched on
Washington DC. They burned and sacked the US Capitol. They attacked
American Forts. There were more battles. The British captured more
American ships and held Mackinac. But then the Americans got
lucky. Major General Andrew Jackson, known to his men as "Old
Hickory." managed to beat the British in the Battle of New
Orleans on Jan 8, 1815. Events in Europe had actually resulted in
the Treaty of Ghent being signed Christmas Eve 1814. (Willis F
Dunbar 222) Dunbar also points out that along the 5,425- mile
boundary line between Canada and the US today there are more than
eight thousand monuments but not a single manned fortification. And
the last small garrison at Fort Mackinac was removed in 1894.
(Willis F Dunbar 223)

Settlers were still
being killed by Indians near Detroit so Governor Cass organized a
company of volunteers in Sept 1814.

On Oct 9 General M
Arthur arrived with 700 mounted riflemen to protect the city.

But the British
continued to search American ships and spent a lot of money on gifts
to Indians in hopes of encouraging further Indian attacks on
Americans. British influence over Michigan tribes was not easy to
eradicate. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 65)

In Oct 1815 Dr Macomb
found several Indians encamped near a ravine with remains of several
of his cattle. One Indian leveled his gun at Macomb but was shot by
one of Macomb's men. (Farmer 285) Detroit was reoccupied September
29. Then Governor Cass has to feed an average of 400 begging Indians
a day for several years. They posed a threat to the citizens but he
did not have the forces to expel them. (Farmer 323)

Slavery

Slavery was practiced
by Indians for thousands of years. It was accepted in Detroit from
1701 as The French allowed slaves. The Indians took slaves and
traded them. Most people were against slavery. Michigan was not a
slave state. The ordinance of 1787 stipulated that all settlers and
traders could “continue to enjoy, unmolested all their
property of every kind” including slaves. In 1827 the
territorial legislature passes a law protecting free blacks from
being kidnapped by slave catchers. Michigan became a major supporter
of the underground railroad. The United States gradually turned
against slavery. Thirteenth Amendment to the United States
Constitution in 1865 finally outlawed it.

The Michigan fur trade
prospered under John Jacob Astor's American Fur Company based on
Mackinac Island. It is said he became the richest man in America.
But over trapping and the upward settlement of farmers forced the
fur trade to all but end in the early 1830s.

In later years groups
of Americans also launched attacks on Canada from Detroit.

Fort Gratiot was built
in 1814 at Port Huron. Americans considered the British enemies.

After battles and
naval battles on Lake Erie, The War of 1812 was over by the February
of 1815.

Because of Put-in-Bay
Michigan was In American Hands to Stay. By 1816 the British had
withdrawn, and Detroit was back in the hands of the Americans to
stay. Look up Commodore Perry and a place called Put-in-Bay! As a
child my grandfather took me on a huge steam powered liner named the
Put-in-Bay to visit Put-in-Bay. What was Put-in-Bay and what
happened to it? There were other big Great Lake side-wheeled-steam
powered liners like the Greater Detroit and the Western States. What
happened to them? What was the battle of Lake Erie?

Even though Wayne
County was formed in 1796 not much had been done as the British and
Indians took awhile to exit. They had become largely dependent on
Europeans and turned into beggars.

The war, which ended
in late 1814, had a devastating effect upon Michiganians. Claiming
that more than half the territory’s population was
“destitute,” Territorial Justice Augustus Woodward noted
in March 1815, “the desolation of the territory is beyond all
perception.”

Not until the
Americans took control of this area and broke the power of the
British and their Indian allies was it safe to settle here. A study
by Kentucky showed that 1520 American settlers from Kentucky were
murdered in repeated ravages between 1783 and 1790 in the North.
In reality the number may have been double that if the years
1700-1830 are factored in.

Malaria
and Ague

Unfortunately the flat
terrain particularly to the west and southwest of Detroit became wet
areas in the spring and fall. Because much of these wet areas had
very poor drainage they did not dry out until summer resulting in
huge numbers of mosquitoes. With the poor drainage after a big
summer rain there were even more mosquitoes. With them came the
diseases malaria and ague. Sometimes the Indians and pioneers rubbed
garlic or onions on their skin to ward off the insects. Southern
Michigan settlers in particular commonly suffered from Malaria and
ague. There were few doctors and even fewer real doctors. A good
doctor would prescribe Quinine then known as Peruvian bark. It was
very expensive and many doctors refused to prescribe it. (Willis F
Dunbar 259) The disease was debilitating but not often fatal. A
feeling of tiredness followed by chills then a severe fever would
come with racking headache and back pain. People would sweat and get
the shakes. And often were too sick to do any work. Sometimes this
occurred at a certain time each day sometimes every other day. Most
people just made effort to survive it and do what they could.

With lack of
refrigeration, unpasteurized milk and contaminated water digestive
upsets were common. Epidemics of erysipelas (called St. Anthony's
Fire) occurred. Dunbar lists contagious diseases such as scarlet
fever, diphtheria, measles, mumps and smallpox took a heavy toll.
Infant mortality was high. Pneumonia and Rheumatism was common.
(Willis F Dunbar 260) There were no dentists and teeth just decayed
and rotted in the mouth causing severe pain. If you have ever had a
painful tooth you know how bad that is. Imagine having to live with
it for years. Sometimes the folk cures for diseases and conditions
were worse than the disease.

Epidemics

Medical care for the
pioneers was nonexistent. There were no doctors or hospitals or even
medicine. Medical knowledge was lacking. You lived or you died.
Often people did not know what to do if they got sick. There were no
phones to call for help or advice. They did not know that bacteria
caused infection. In 1789 an unknown pestilence killed many. In 1813
and 1832 many died of epidemics. In the fall and winter of 1813 a
severe epidemic prevailed in General Harrison's army. Hundreds of
soldiers died, and were buried near the fort in Detroit.

In 1832 a serious
epidemic occurred which may have affected settlers bound for Center
Line . Instructions on the prevention and cure of the cholera was
printed. The mayor forbade vessels from any other port to land
within a hundred yards or to land any person until after an
examination by a health officer. Silas Farmer states on July 4 the
steamer Henry Clay arrived on her way to Chicago with three hundred
and seventy soldiers for the Black Hawk War. “On July 5 one of
the soldiers died of cholera and the vessel was immediately ordered
to Hog Island. From there she went on her way, but the disease
attacked so many of the troops that it was useless for the vessel to
proceed and she was compelled to stop at Fort Gratiot. From there
the soldiers began to make their way to Detroit, but many of them
died on the road and were devoured by wold beasts; only one
hundred and fifty [out of 370] reached the city, arriving here about
July 8. (Silas Farmer p48) “Meanwhile on July 6 two citizens
died of the disease and a panic was at once created. Many persons
left their business and fled from the city. In the country the
excitement was even greater that at Detroit. On arrival of the
mail-coach at Ypsilanti, the driver was ordered by a health officer
to stop that an examination of passengers might be made. The driver
refusing, his horses were fired on; one was killed, and the driver
himself had a narrow escape. At other places fences were build
across the roads and travelers were compelled to turn back. At
Rochester persons from Detroit were turned our of the hotel and
their baggage thrown after them, and the bridges were torn up to
prevent persons from entering the village. At Pontiac a body of men
were armed, and sentinels were stationed on the highway to prevent
ingress. One of the citizens of this latter place, Dr Porter, came
here to investigate the disease, but on his return he was refused
admittance to his own home and compelled to revisit our city.
“[Detroit] The deaths in Detroit were 96 traced mostly to
“intemperance and carelessness.” (Silas Farmer p49) In
1834 “the disease again appeared and this time with added
horrors.” It began in August and continued til the last of
September. In 20 days there were 122 deaths from cholera and 57 from
other causes. Ninety=five of these victims were strangers. [Some of
those could have been settlers headed for Center Line ] “Seven
percent of the population died in a month. Business was hardly
thought of. The air appeared unusually oppressive, and to purify it
large kettles of pitch were burned at night in front of various
housed and at intervals along the streets; the burial rite was
shortened; and persons were not allowed to enter or leave the city
without inspection and due delay. It had been the custom to toll the
bell on the occasion of a death, but the tolling became so frequent
that it increased the panic, and was therefore discontinued.”
(Silas Farmer p49)

“Mayor
Trowbridge was especially active. Day after day he visited the
hospital, and in many ways cared for the sick, most honorably
fulfilling his duties as the chief magistrate of the city in its
time of greatest need.”... “Some of the patients were
saved by the care of volunteer attendants after they had been given
up by the regular physicians.” (Silas Farmer p49)

“Tall, strong
brave Father Martin Kundig outshone and outdid all others by his
tireless devotion to the sick and dying. Soon after the cholera had
made its appearance, Father Kundig bought the old Presbyterian
Church, ...and divided it into two apartments, for male and female
patients respectively. A one house ambulance was then prepared, and
morning after morning, night after night, he went here and there,
gathering in the sick and taking them to the refuge which combined
sanctuary and hospital. He was so much of the time with the patients
that he was avoided on the streets lest he should spread the
configaion. Dying patients, as they passed away, committed their
children to his care, and the trust was faithfully administered. The
Legislature, on March 18, 1937, vote him $3,000 in acknowledgment of
his services; but he was never fully reimbursed for his expenses. He
was seconded by the Sisters of St Claire. Mr. Alpheus White also
rendered efficient aid, not only neglecting his business himself,
but giving also the time of his employees. (Silas Farmer p49)

With epidemics
often family members were laid side by side in common graves. Often
several family members died within a short time. Many people died of
conditions we have cures for now. Many children died young. Many
died or suffered close calls even in Center Line and Warren.
Smallpox, Cholera, Influenza, TB, Diphtheria, Malaria and others
were feared because they were killers (and still are). Many of the
pioneer women died early deaths in childbirth. Many children of
Center Line and Warren parents died very young of diseases we now
have cures for, just as millions of children today are dying of
diseases we have cures for and from malnutrition. Some right here in
Michigan. Hospitals and good medical care just did not exist until
recently. Many so called early doctors did not even graduate from
medical school and even if they did the medical knowledge back then
was often inadequate. Now we have hospitals and doctors with good
medical training but 200,000 people die a year from medical
malpractice. And by the way many children and parents in Center Line
and Warren now do not have medical or dental coverage. This is not a
political statement but historical fact.

Cholera

What a tragedy. Some
immigrants traveled thousands of miles to come to Detroit and while
waiting to buy Center Line land at the land office in Detroit picked
up the cholera bacteria and died shortly thereafter. There was a
huge cholera outbreak in 1832. It is very probable that Center Line
area settlers (or soon to be settlers) came down with it or died of
it. Cholera can be prevented. How does a person get cholera? A
person may get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated
with the cholera bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the
contamination is usually the feces of an infected person. The
disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of
sewage and drinking water. The cholera bacterium may also live in
the environment in brackish rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish
eaten raw have been a source of cholera, and a few persons in the
United States have contracted cholera after eating raw or
undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico. The disease is not
likely to spread directly from one person to another; therefore,
casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming
ill.

There was an epidemic
of small pox in 1903 and most of the families in the village were
quarantined. Dr Flynn was hired to care for them. Supplies and fuel
was also purchased for the families affected.

Many children and
adults died of diseases we have cures for now.

1918-1919 There was a
terrible influenza epidemic that killed thousands of persons in
Michigan and an estimated 25 million people world wide. There were
so many orphans that an orphan asylum was active in Detroit.

In the old days
there were epidemics and many died or suffered close calls even in
Center Line and Warren. Smallpox, Cholera, Influenza, TB,
Diphtheria, Malaria and others were feared because they were killers
(and still are). Silas Farmer noted historian listed the most common
maladies on the frontier as malarious fever, rheumatism, pneumonia,
choleraic affections, croup, and pleursy. “There have also
been occasional visitations of the ordinary epidemic and contagious
diseases, such as influenza, measles, scarlet-fever, small-pox,
etc., and within twenty years typhoid or rather typho-malarial
fevers, and diphtheria have been added. The total number of deaths
in 1880 was 1,074, in 1881, 1,709; in 1882, 2,712 and in 1883 2,957.
(Silas Farmer p48)

Because of the poor
drainage there were more misquotes which spread disease. Many of the
pioneer women died early deaths in childbirth.

Many of the pioneer
women died early deaths in childbirth. Many children of Center Line
and Warren parents died very young of diseases we now have cures
for, just as millions of children today are dying of diseases we
have cures for and from malnutrition. Some right here in Michigan.
Hospitals and good medical care just did not exist until recently.
Many so called early doctors did not even graduate from medical
school and even if they did the medical knowledge back then was
often inadequate. In fact a person could buy a medical book and in
the back was a diploma. Many people became “doctors” in
that manner. Now we have hospitals and doctors with good medical
training but 200,000 people die a year from medical malpractice. I
will say it again. At the present time many children and parents in
Center Line and Warren do not have medical or dental coverage. This
is historical fact.

How an
Indian woman saved the Governor’s life

In 1820 The new
governor of Michigan was Lewis Cass. He had a problem. It seems that
rumors were being spread that Michigan was a swamp and terrible
place to live. This had happened because surveyors had been sent out
during a wet season and found many wet areas. He began a campaign to
build roads, lighthouses, and he negotiated land treaties with the
remaining Indians. He wanted to see for himself what the state was
like so he on a 4,200 mile trip around the state. He and his men
camped near where Sault Ste Marie is now located. He met with the
local chiefs and asked their permission to build a fort there. They
told him, no left the meeting and went over to a wigwam nearby and
raised a British flag. Cass walked boldly over to the flagpole with
only his interpreter, an Indian woman named Neenay. He told the
chiefs thru his interpreter that no foreign flag was to be raised.
Then he took the British flag down, stepped on it and removed it to
his tent. At this point it was very likely that he would have been
killed. But his interpreter who was the daughter of an Indian chief
and who had gone to school told the chiefs that it would be unwise
to kill him as it would bring in the American Army. And thru her
another meeting was set up resulting in permission to build the fort
and gifts to the Indians. Had there not been an interpreter or a
common language another war would probably happened and thousands
would have died. Humans need to communicate with each other
especially in emergencies. Have you ever tried to talk to someone
who does not understand English. What if your life depended on it?
Relating it to today’s world 90% of the world does not
understand English now and will not learn it in our lifetime. If a
few people in each community would invest ten minutes a day to
learning the international vocabulary, we could understand and be
understood regardless of the local language. Why has it been
mentioned here? Because it can save lives and save the US millions
wasted in translating costs at the UN which all ends up in the trash
within a short time. It has been scientifically proven to be the
most time and cost efficient solution to the world language problem.
And is historic fact that many people have died because of language
nonunderstandings.

Indian
Trails

There were no roads so
areas close to rivers and lakes were settled first. You can’t
drive a wagon thru the woods and get very far. Detroit under
European domination grew from a small settlement in 1701 with
ever-stronger forts to an ever-bigger village. Hunting expeditions
probably followed the Indian trail called the “centre line”
what is now Sherwood Ave. Some Indian families may have lived here
then. What was the “centre line”? There were several
Indian trails in the 1700’s. One trail followed the shoreline
From Detroit to Port Huron. It was called the Huron trail probably
because it led eventually the Huron River (later named the Clinton
River) and on to the Lake Huron. One trail went from Detroit to
Saginaw. In the middle was the “centre line trail” as it
was called by the French. It ran along what is now Sherwood. It was
named the Center Line Road or State Road and even later the part of
it in Macomb County was named Sherwood. The Territorial Road Van
Dyke became known as the Center Line road after the businesses at
Kunrod’s corners moved over to Van Dyke to be near the church
built there in 1854.

Peace
and Democracy Reigned Supreme

By 1817 democracy
reigned supreme said Parkins in his book Historical Geography of
Detroit. He quotes a lady resident of Detroit at the time as stating
that in Detroit we were all friends Indians, soldiers, French and
Americans. In Detroit there was much good society and hospitality.
All sociable and interested in each other. Of course the Indians
were doing a lot of begging. At this time most people could not read
and had not attended school. Schools were being established.

The Americans knew
very little about the interior except the areas near the rivers and
lakes. Parkins states that the swampy nature of the land in the
spring and fall and the dense nature of the vegetation served to
check travel and exploration until when in 1818 a party undertook to
discover whether the interior was habitable. They followed a road
being built by U.S. soldiers which at that time had only reached a
point four miles from the river. Then they followed an Indian guide
along the Saginaw Trail to the site of Pontiac.

In warm weather the
canoe was the major method of transportation and in winter the snow
shoe.

US land office
established in 1804 and the first public auction was in 1818. The
average price of land was $4 per acre. (Farmer p37) Other laws were
passed that lowered the price of land and the minimum number of
acres that had to be purchased. Some was to be don on installment
plan. In 1820 a cash price of $1.25 per acre was established with 80
acres the minimum. This is the price paid by most land buyers in
Michigan. (Willis F Dunbar 162) It was not until later in 1862 that
the Homestead law was enacted in which a person could receive 160
acres for a small fee by residing on the land for five years. Often
a settler wuld build a cabin and clear the land before it was
surveyed hoping to be able to purchase it. These were called
squatters. In 1841 a “premption law” was passes giving a
person who had settled on land, erected a dwelling, and made certain
improvements, the right to purchase 160 acres at the minimum land
price. (Willis F Dunbar 162)

By this time the few
remaining Indians knew that they were outnumbered and that their way
of life was no longer to be had here in Michigan. They settled for
anything they could get.

In The Michigan
Pioneer and Historical Collections Volume XVII 1890 History of
Township of Shelby, Macomb County George H Cannon notes how the
Indians were bought off by gifts gradually signed away their lands.
(p420-422)

In general after 1820
what few Indians that had not fled or been killed lived in peace
with the settlers. They realized that they were outnumbered and that
their hunting, gathering, killing way of life was doomed. Some
continued begging or were still a nuisance.

Old
Old time recreation

For recreation in
these old days there was visiting neighbors, foot races, dancing,
singing and music with fiddlers. There was sleigh riding, sliding
and ice skating in colder months. Horse riding, picnics on Hog
island. Boat rides. There were some old time games and good
wholesome food. The air was clean, the water was clean. There was no
pollution. There was some drinking, There were community gatherings,
picnics, babecue games, foot races, jumping contests, wrestling,
pitching, tug of war, singing dancing to an old fiddle and marching
and singing games. There were barn raisings, house raisings, husking
bees. Contests often included bobbing for apples, pie eating,
Greased pig, three legged race, potato sac race. Often young people
were looking for a lifetime mate. Couples often got married at 14 or
15. People were happy they felt that they were members of a
community of people that cared for each others welfare.

Parks

In the 1800s and early
1900s there were no official parks. Any available shady spot was
used if the location was in a location where people wanted to
gather. Some farmers even build pavilions for bands and dancing such
as at Ryan Park, and 9 Mile Warner park. In the Village of Warren
what is now Eckstein park was referred to as Warren Park. There were
annual Fourth of July picnics held there. We have been researching
parks of late and so far this appears to be oldest park that is
still a park. The oldest area used as a park was probably as weird
as it may seem was the Green, Hessel Bunert Indian mound park now
the baseball field to the south of Briarwood school. Let me clarify.
In the old days people held picnics in the cemeteries to be close to
their loved ones. Games were played there and music played.

The United States
Ordinances of 1785 and 1787 called for division of western lands
into townships six miles square and each of these to be divided into
36 numbered sections. The Land was to be surveyed then put up for
sale at $1.00 per acre. This led to an orderly transition from
wilderness to farmland. And when a territory reached 60,000 it could
form a constitution and apply for statehood.

First
recorded visit to Center Line area.

The Indian titles were
extinguished and Indians subdued. In 1815 the Michigan government
began land surveys. Crews of men with measuring chains and tripod
mounted compass were sent out to survey the area and mark it. A
hardwood stake was set leaving about a foot above ground and all
trees in the area were deeply notched. (Willis F Dunbar 239)

George H Cannon writes
regarding SE Michigan “The field to be surveyed was so
extensive, the the settlers so rapidly crowding into the wilderness,
that many surveyors were employed and kept in the field. Among those
who did a large amount of work in Michigan territory was Joseph
Wampler, of Tuscurawas county, Ohio. It would be of interest to know
something of Mr. Wampler's history but, after much correspondence
and search, we find nothing definite in relation to him except as
appears in the report of his survey. It is a matter commonly
understood, among the early settlers, that he was a Methodist
preacher but the official records of that body do not disclose his
name. However this may be we know that Mr. Wampler was appointed
deputy surveyor-general and assigned a contract to survey in the
territory of Michigan. The contract bore the date the 18th
day of October 1816 comprised the subdivisional survey of eighteen
townships in eastern Michigan north of the base line east of the
meridian. Described as towns 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 north of ranges 10,
11, and 12 east. Eighteen miles in width ease and west and 36 miles
in extent north and south.” Cannon notes this was a valuable
area well watered and a rich agricultural region.” He notes
that a year earlier deputies had abandoned their work stating that
the entire county was a lake, swamp or marsh. It was reported that
the soil was barren and “Taking the country altogether, so far
as has been explored...there would not be one out of a thousand that
would in any case admit of cultivation.”

(Michigan Pioneer and
Historical Collections Volume XVII 1890 History of Township of
Shelby, Macomb County by George H Cannon p423, 424)

“Mr Wampler
entered upon his work the February following the date of his
contract. In this it was expressly stipulated that no member of
Congress has any interest in it. The compensation for this labors,
difficult and important work was only three dollars per mile and
fraction thereof. At that time the winter season was deemed the best
practicable time to make surveys, largely on account of the ease in
crossing marshes and meandering lakes which would be frozen over.
Previous to entering upon his work his assistants ( a marker and two
chain men) were sworn in and subscribed to an affidavit that they
would faithfully discharge their respective duties to the best of
their ability and agreeably to instructions. This was signed by
William Johnson and David Hoorne, as chain men, and by Joseph Clark
as marker. Before the survey of the district was completed another
set of chain men were sworn in, on Oct 21, 1817. These were Hatsuld
Johnson and Francis Dudley, the latter signing by making his mark.”

Joseph Clark evidently
was the marker certified for the entire eighteen towns. Being
certified as correct on Feb 3, 1818.

(Michigan Pioneer and
Historical Collections Volume XVII 1890 History of Township of
Shelby, Macomb County by George H Cannon p423, 424)

“In connection
it may not be amiss to say that, taken as a whole, the survey in Mr
Wampler's district was, for those times, quite fairly done. And when
we take into account the beggarly compensation of three dollars per
mile for so important a work, the entire want of oversight on the
part of any government official as the work progressed in the
field—all being left entirely to the honor and integrity of
the surveyor--it must be conceded to be a matter worthy of great
praise that the work was done so well that the settlers were enabled
to locate their land without serious difficulty.” Cannon notes
that in many other cases other surveyors acquired the habit of
returning fraudulent work largely made up of imaginary and
fictitious notes. He states “It would appear that even at that
early day the government, as well as individuals, had to learn the
important lesson that honest work required honest pay and that both
were best assured by one's knowledge; that fidelity to duty was by
no means impaired by adequate compensation for work faithfully
performed.” After the survey notes were turned in the land
could be put up for sale. Parts of the area were heavily forested,
parts were grassy plains with scarcely any timber, other parts were
swampy. (Michigan Pioneer and Historical Collections Volume XVII
1890History of Township of Shelby, Macomb County by George H Cannon
p423, 424)

When Wampler surveyed
the Center Line area in 1817 they found swampy ground and other land
up by the Red Run occupied by a few squatters and a few Indians. So
Center Line was being settled before Michigan became a state and
before Macomb County was formed.

There were no roads
just pathways marked by markers and blazed trees. Some folks made
heavy dugout canoes which worked fine until the wood cracked and
they leaked or split in half. Then they found out why the Indians
made them out of birch bark sealed with rosin. It was impossible to
get a wagon thru the woods and marshes.

Center
Line settled first by canoe

It is likely that the
area of Center Line Village, Beebe’s corners, was settled just
a little before Kunrod’s Corners because the settlers could
get there by water which was the primary method of travel at that
time. Bear Creek had a tributary leading to the Centre Line Road
which explains the zigzag where Sherwood crosses the railroad
tracks. The earliest settlers probably settled along this route.
They may have arrived by means of lake St Clair to the Huron river
(now Clinton) to Red Run creek to the Creek Road. This route
entailed less tramping thru the dense wilderness than the trek from
Detroit. If they had or rented wagons they could have used the
Moravian plank road that the peaceful Christian Moravian Indians had
built. The centre line trail became The State Road with use and was
planked in 1856. It was the main North-South road for many years. It
became a stock company road and had planks 10 feet wide. Many years
later in 1890 when the planks had became rotten the road was
condemned, then repaved with gravel.

The new American
economy was booming and land around the fort at Detroit was growing
more scarce. The great immigration was about to begin. Settlers came
from the eastern United States and from many lands.

In 1818 Macomb County
was formed. A base line had been set up across the state and the
future main roads drawn on maps. It was the third county in
Michigan. Parkins states that from 1818 immigration steadily
increased. By 1820 the population of Michigan was 8,765.

After about 1818 we
started to have rule by law not brute force. Constables were
appointed. People accused were able to get a fair trial. James
Fulton served as the first Macomb County sheriff from 1818-1822.
There has been constant sheriff service since that time. Later as
villages formed constables were appointed. Things were mostly
settled in a peaceful manner rather than by brute force. Finally
under American Rule of Law Center Line had law and order and this
has created almost two hundred years of peace unknown to the Center
Line area at any prior time in the past.

The federal government
started selling land in Macomb County. In 1819 the county of Oakland
was subtracted and in 1820 the county of St Clair was subtracted
from Macomb County. Romeo further north wasn’t beginning to be
settled until 1821.

1825 Erie Canal

The completion of the
Erie Canal in 1825 ushered in an active period of emigration. It was
only four feet deep and 42 feet wide. It linked the Hudson River
with Lake Erie. (363 miles). This made it easier and faster for
immigrants to come here. And there were thousands of immigrants
about to head west. In 1818 the first steamship began on the Great
Lakes with the “Walk in the Water”. It was wrecked and
her engine used in a new ship the Superior. Until 1825 there was
only one steamship between Detroit and Buffalo. Two additional ones
were launched that year followed by more. (Willis F Dunbar 245)
Because of the depression land sales actually declined for a few
years after that.

1825 patient on tin
cans but not in common use until later.

1826 Warren and Center
Line was still a heavily timbered area. The Moravian road was only a
trail.

Land
For Sale!

The federal government
was selling land to raise money. Land was for sale for only $1.25 an
acre. In 1836 4.1 million acres were purchased in Michigan. The
settlers usually came by boat to Detroit and then by canoe along the
Huron River to Red Run Creek or they came over land by horsepower or
on foot from there. The main settlement in the area that was to
become Center Line occurred after 1830.

From 1825-37
immigration from eastern States increased rapidly. By 1836 500-700
arrived on a single boat. There were long lines at the land office.

Warren
arrives

War hero Rev Abel
Warren settled in what was to become Macomb County in the summer of
1824.

Settlers came from the
eastern United States and from many lands.

Charles Groesbeck
settled in Section 33 in 1830. Then followed Charles Rivard in 1831
in Section 35. He made a homestead at the northwest corner of 12
Mile and Mound. Others followed Louis Groesbeck and the Beebe Family
who settled near the trail (later called the Creek Road) that ran
along the Red Run Creek. This led to the name Beebe’s corners
because it had a toll gate run by John L Beebe, to pay for the labor
that went into the plank road paving over the marshy area of road.
The road was ten feet wide and made of oak planks. Loaded wagons had
the right of way. Or if both were loaded or empty the wagon heading
South had the right of way and the other one had to pull off. This
was not very good after a rain as the ground became very muddy. John
Beebe also operated a general store, tin shop and later a post
office.

1826 Center Line was
still a heavily timbered area. The Moravian road was still a trail
road.

The land office was
doing a booming business in the 1830s. Most of the settlers arrived
after 1830. The dense trees were cut for homes, fuel and crop land.
The area of Warren and Center Line began to be changed from mature
forest to rough farmland with tree stumps.

Settlers
came from many countries

Prior to the Civil War
most of Michigan's and Center Line 's residents were New Englanders
coming primarily from New York. “All brought with them the
Yankee traits of industry, thrift, religious zeal, reformism, and
interest in education. “ (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 74) The new
settlers were primarily agriculturalists interested in growing cash
crops of wheat and corn. They raised rye, barley, oats, potatoes,
hay and beans.

Center Line later had
settlers from many European countries. They spoke German, Dutch,
Flemish, French, Belgium, Irish, Welsh, Swedish and a few even spoke
English although Center Line pioneers were known to have a slight
German accent.

Rule
of law at last

Rule of law at last No
longer did Kings dictate to us, or tribes attack us. We had rights
and laws that people followed. The rule of brute force had been
defeated. Settlers no longer had to fear being slaughtered for
scalps or because someone wanted their land. Land was recorded. For
the first time in our history we had a constitution and bill of
rights. We had freedom of speech and religion. We had a say in our
government. But most of all we had Peace and freedom with liberty
and justice for all.

The federal government
to raise money was selling land. The land office was a busy place.
The settlers usually came by boat to Detroit and then by horsepower
or on foot from there. The main settlement in the area that was to
become Center Line occurred after 1830.

The pioneers came by
canoe and or along narrow forest flanked trails into the dense
wilderness. They came with few tools and against terrific odds and
met with determination what modern people would term impossible
problems. Imagine for a moment being left completely on your own in
a forest wilderness with no: insect repellent, house or shelter no
super markets, no showers no electrical power, no appliances, no
telephone, no power saws, no gas heat, no running waters no cars,
tractors or trucks, no machines, no radios, TV or entertainment, no
canned foods, pop, beer, no paper products, no bottled milk, or
other packaged foods, no street lights or even streets, no police,
no coffee, no credit cards, no job, no ready made bread, no toilets
no toilet paper or wards catalog. The courageous pioneers felled the
trees drained wet areas, constructed temporary shelters then log
cabins, and tilled the land.

Robert Ramsey bought
160 acres in NE Center Line Dated January 6, 1835. according to
tract Book page 8 Located on the Northwest quarter of Section 22,
Township 1 North of Range 12 East. He sold 80 acres of that to
JONATHAN CRABB in 1838.

First the land was not
put for sale until the survey was done and filed in 1818. Macomb
county was just formed in 1818. Some troublesome savages still had
to be cleared out because they still posed a threat to settlers. It
took a few years to counter the reports of the whole area being a
swamp. Reports had been sent out east about the area being a big
swamp and it took a few years for other more accurate reports to be
spread out east. Only parts of Warren were wet lands. Potential land
buyers had to come here and see that the land could be drained and
check out the soil. There was no transportation to the area. The
trail had to be improved. Most settlers were directed to other
places which had better reputations. In 1825 the Erie Canal opened
and it took a few years for ships to be built. By the 1830s
transportation was available. Settlers could buy a comfortable trip
from the Atlantic Ocean to Detroit for less than $10. (Kern 18)
Michigan's population grew from 9,000 non -Indians to 29,000 in
1830, and to 212,000 by 1840. (Kern 18) “By 1850 ...Michigan's
immigrants from the Northwest outnumbered her immigrants from the
South 45 to 1. (Kern 18) But Detroit had to overcome severe
epidemics. People did not want to come thru Detroit and get a fatal
disease. As all of these issues became favorable word got out east
and settlers and speculators arrived in ship loads of hundreds.

Here are the original
land patents for Warren Township

Patentee Name State
County Issue, Date Land Office Doc., Nr. Accession, Serial Nr.

Of course many of
these people resold their land to others who became the ones to
actually begin farming in the area.

Settlers
of Center Line

__ P or R myre J
map1859 s27 SECL

__Fide
P map1859 s27 SECL

Adams
P. map 1875 s27 SECL

Ardy
Mrs map 1875 s28 SWCL

Ardy
Straket

Angleman
J map1859 s27 SECL

Antonie
William

Altermatt
Joseph

Baumgardner
George

Bearman
Jos map 1875 s21 WCL

Berghofer
C. shoemaker

Bigfield
P map1859 s28 sWCL

Bloom
M map1859 s28 sWCL

Bourike
M map 1875 s22 ECL

Brower
A map1859 s22 ECL

Buechel
John

Buechel
Joseph hist map 1875 s21 WCL

Buechel
Sophia hist

Burg
Peter

Burkhesier
Adam

Bush
G map1859 s28 sWCL

Campbell
John

Clemens
scch

Conrad
Louis saloon

Corey
G W mp1859 s21

Cramer
Joseph scc 1854 map1859 s22 ECL map 1875 s22 ECL

Creemer
J map 1875 s28 SWCL

Cramer
Jas

Cramer
map 1875 s28 SWCL

Cramer
P. map 1875 s22 ECL

Dalton
Robert

DeConintle
Jos map 1875 s22 ECL

DeGrandchamp
John

DeGrandchamp
William

Desgrandchamps
P map 1875 s28 SWCL

DeSmet
L. map 1875 s22 ECL

Dupel
Carl shoemaker

Dwyer
J map 1875 s27 SECL

Ebert
Mrs map1859 s28 sWCL

Elliot
John map 1875 s21 WCL

Engleman
Hyronemus

Engleman
J. map 1875 s28 SWCL

Freidhoff
John

Friedhoff
George

Gill
George

Grobbel
Ben

Grobbel
John

Grobbel
Joseph

Groesbeck
Alex map 1875 s28 SWCL

Groesbeck
C S & L sawmill map1859

Groesbeck
Chas map 1875 s21 WCL

Groesbeck
F.E. map1859 s28 Grocery store map 1875 s28 SWCL

Groesbeck
L map1859 s28 sWCL0

Groesbeck
Noah

Grushep
Louis lumber manufacturer

Guion
Peter

Gerome
J map 1875 s28 SWCL

Hafferley
John

Hagger
M map1859 s22 ECL

Halmich
Henry

HensinJ
P map 1875 s28 SWCL

Hassell
Wm map 1875 s27 SECL

Hendricks
Rev. Wiley Catholic Pastor

Hessel
Reinhold

Hasset
Wm map1859 s27 SECL

Hoste
Bernard

Hulbert
J map 1875 s22 ECL

Jacobs
C map 1875 s21 WCL

Jackson
Daniel

Jackson
William

Jerer
J map1859 s28 sWCL

Kaltz
A. map 1875 s22 ECL

Kaltz
Mrs Frank

Kaltz
G. map 1875 s22 ECL

Kaltz
H.

Kaltz
J. J. map 1875 s27 SECL

Kaltz
J map1859 s27 SECL

Kaltz
Peter map 1875 s21 WCL

Kaltz
Wm map1859 s21 WCL

Katta
H Store map1859 s21 WCL

Kramer
Joseph carpenter

Kramer
map 1875 s22 ECL

Kuchey
Michael

Kultz
Frank general store

Kultz
H map 1875 s21 WCL

Kultz
Matthew blacksmith

Kunrod
1840? hist WCL

Laferty
J map1859 s21 WCL

LaMael
August

Lefevre
Mrs. map 1875 s22 ECL

Lentz
M. map 1875 s22 ECL

Leonard
Simon

Mathias
scc 1854

Mcarty
R map1859 s22 ECL

Meyer
Jos.

Miller
Miss Catherine

Metter
Joseph

Miller
Jos

Miller
P.K map 1875 s22 ECL

Miller’s
Gus hist

Miller
Josepf scc1854 map1859 s22 ECL map 1875 s22 ECL

Mathias
Miller general store map 1875 s22 ECL

Moser
J map1859 s28 sWCL

Mussei
? W map1859 s27 SECL

Parash
P map1859 s22 ECL

Parach
P map 1875 s22 ECL

Peters
Alfred

Peters
Antoine

Peters
Henry

Peters
Lambert

Rasch
Robert

Reichert
Peter wagon maker

Riem
R. map 1875 s22 ECL

Rinke
Andrew

Rinke
Joseph A

Rivard
Frank

Rivard
Joseph

Rotarius
Peter scc 1854 map 1875 s21 WCL

Rotarius
J. P map1859 s22 ECL map 1875 s22 ECL

Rubinet
J. map 1875 s22 ECL

Ruhlman
Chris

Ryan
John map1859 s27 SECL map 1875 s27 SECL

Schlant
J.

Schlenme
L map 1875 s27 SECL

Schoenherr
Louis

Siglar
G map1859 s21

Sex
or Sox P &HR map1859 s27 SECL

Simons
Wiley physician

Smidt
W map1859 s27 SECL

Smith
L map1859 s22 ECL

Smith
Michael

Smith
map 1875 s21 WCL

Smitts
Wm map 1875 s27 SECL

Springer
George

Spinning
Chas E map 1875 s27 SECL

Stealer
map 1875 s28 SWCL

Sullivan
J map1859 s27 SECL

Sullivan
M map 1875 s27 SECL

Trombly
J map1859 s21 WCL

Trombly
Vincent map 1875 s21 WCL

Trombly
N. map 1875 s21 WCL

Thiet
P map 1875 s27 SECL

Vaer
Hoven Henry

Vandsutter
Mrs saloon,

VeLyne,
August

Warner
Jos map 1875 s21 WCL

Warner
J map 1875 s21 WCL

Withoff
Mrs saloon

William
Theut, John Theut

Welch
M. map 1875 s28 SWCL

Wiegand
general store hist

Wiegand
Frank

Wilie’s
Butcher Shop

Weingartz
Johann scc 1854

Weingartz
M. map1859 s21 WCL map 1875 s21 WCL

Wolf
Anthony

Yosrock
B map 1875 s28 SWCL

Youngblood
B map 1875 s28 SWCL

What
was on the pioneers table?

The pioneers were not
lacking for meat or fish. Our area abounded in wild life. At first
vegetables had to be grown and all cooking done outside. Tables were
well supplied Beavers tails, wild ducks, turkeys, partridges,
quails, bear-steaks, venison, whitefish, hulled corn, succotash,
baked French pears. (Farmer p 338) The first settlers had few
utensils. Fires had to be lighted without match or lighters and kept
going around the clock. Sugar was made from maple syrup. Wild homey
was occasionally discovered in the woods.

Fences had to be
erected and crops for animal food planted. Later domesticated
animals were brought in. Silas states “The Gazette for July
25, 1817, announced that ‘during the proceeding two weeks
1,700 head of cattle were brought from Ohio.’”

Because of wolves
one could not keep small livestock safely unless they were kept in a
shed or barn.

Prior to 1830 maple
sugar was the only sugar in common use. Early American settlers
daily drink was wintergreen tea sweetened with maple sugar. ( Farmer
p389) And of course there was the full range of fresh vegetables
from the gardens. Everything was organic. There were no
pollutants in the water. The air was absolutely clean. There
were no chemicals being dumped into the air.

One
good turn led to another

I have heard of
Indians helping the pioneers and of cooperation between them. One
cold winter night an early pioneer heard a knock at his door.
Because there was no law in the early years one answered his door
with gun in hand. At the door was a nearly frozen Indian family that
just wanted to get warm. The settler to protect his family tried to
stay awake all night to keep his eyes on the Indians but towards
morning he fell asleep. When he awoke the Indians were gone. He
looked around to see that his family was ok. They were still
sleeping peacefully and nothing was missing. When he opened the door
he found that the Indians had left him a present fresh venison
enough to feed his family for several days.

At times Indians and
settlers helped each other. At times they fought each other. Some
were proud and honest. One could not blame the Indians for
distrusting the white man. After all he stole and cheated them out
of their land, caused Indian groups to fight each other and
disrespected Indians in general. The Europeans often hunted for
sport not for food which killed off many animals. Many Americans and
Europeans had massacred Indians and their wives and children.

Some Indians learned
the culture of the settlers and lived in peace. Their reward was to
be killed, starved or evicted from the very land that was promised
them.

Wild
Weather and weird things

Michigan has had its
share of wild weather. In Oct 1762 Jonathon Carver reported that
dense black clouds hung over the Detroit area and a rain with a
sulphorous odor . Some of it was collected and used as ink. (Farmer
p46) In the winter of 1779-80 hundreds of horses and cattle froze to
death from the severe cold. (Farmer p46) In 1784 there was a very
severe frost as late as March 6 and snow 6 feet deep. On Lake St
Clare a mile from shore the ice was 3 feet deep and it did not
disappear until May. (Farmer 46) An earthquake was felt with after
shocks from December thru February. In 1816 ice formed every month
of the year. In 1821 from 14-20 April 8 inches of snow fell. May 1,
1824 saw one foot of snow. 1828 had extreme fires across state as
was very dry. In 1853 there was no rain until Oct 21. On April 20,
1871 ice ¼ inch formed and heavy frosts Aug 17 and 18. Sept
and October had extensive fires across the state. In 1873 the temp
went to 35 below 0. In1879 there was a hailstorm with hail as big as
walnuts which fell in great quantity. In 1886 there was a 24”
snowfall. In 1887 there was 107 degree heat. July 16 and 17. (Farmer
p46, 47)

"You people don't
know what snow is," grandpa used to say. "When I was a boy
we had REAL snowstorms and we had to walk . . . yakkity yakkity yak.
. . "

Well, chalk up one for
grandpa. It seems he was right. The worst snowstorm in Detroit
history came in early April, 1886, and dumped 24.5 inches of the
white stuff on the city. Accompanying winds caused drifts up to 12
feet high in some places. The second worst storm in 1974 brought us
a mere 19.2 inches. (Detroit News January 31, 2002 From The Detroit
News:
http://apps.detnews.com/apps/history/index.php?id=113#ixzz0gKc6UeTr
Record High Temperature: 105/40.5 in July 1934. Record Low
Temperature: -24/-31 on Dec. 22, 1872. Mean Annual Temperature:
48.6/9.2. Average Snowfall: 41.1 inches/102.75 centimeters.

Getting to the
homestead site was a major task. You secured passage on barges and a
ship to get to Detroit. You had to be extra careful there in a
strange place where it was easy to get robbed or catch disease. A
lot of folks caught diseases in Detroit because of the unsanitary
living conditions at times. To get to Center Line one could come up
the Red Run river. There were no roads or bridges only dense forest
and swamps. Wagons just could not make it thru the woods or swamps
or cross most streams.

The first pioneers
worked very hard and long. It was a survive or not survive
situation. They had to keep constant watch for raiders or hostile
Indians.

The pioneers had to
scout out places to find water and to build a shelter.

The courageous
pioneers upon arrival first made quick shelters for protection from
the wolves, bears, lynx, and other wild cats, mosquitoes, rain and
cold. Survival was most important. All the time keeping alert
against attacks by Indians or raiders.

Then they made a one
room hut for better protection. This was followed later by a better
made cabin which took about fifty to sixty logs all of which had to
be cut by hand.

The cracks were
stuffed with a mixture of mud, clay, grass, chips and sometimes with
small branches that would fill in. The main idea was not so much for
privacy but to keep out the millions of mosquitoes. Otherwise they
would steal your blood and deprive you of sleep and worse of all
give you ague and malaria. The roof was covered with bark and later
cut wood or shakes. Sometimes the door was a canvas or cloth until
boards could be cut to make a door. Oiled paper or skins substituted
for windows but as time was important many had no windows at first.
Later rocks and damp clay had to be secured for an inside fireplace.

Ground had to be made
ready to plant corn and other crops. Corn was often the first crop
as it required no plowing, little weeding, no grinding, and could be
eaten green if necessary. If the property was in a forest the trees
had to be girdled to let in sunlight. If the property was on a
prairie the heavy sod was usually so thick it often took a team of
six oxen or horses to break it with a plough. Remember it had been
growing for hundreds of years. Of course what could not be grown in
time had to be made up for from the forest in form of berries, nuts,
and what animals could be hunted for food. (There were no stores
anywhere close.)

Then the settlers dug
wells, girdled the big trees, felled the smaller trees, cleared the
brush, made tables, made chairs, tilled the land, planted crops, and
drained wet areas. These were unbelievably though tasks. Keep
in mind that they only had an ax and sometimes a small saw to work
with. (No power equipment at all in those times)

Sometimes neighbors
helped each other. The settler felled the trees needed then sawed
the logs to proper length. A Cabin raising was planned and neighbors
invited. Food and Drinks were served. The best axe men cut notches
at the ends of the logs. A horse or teamwork brought the logs to the
site. Logs were positioned. Some were slid up log ramps into
position with forks and spikes. After the walls were done holes were
cut for the door and window. Longitudinal roof poles were pegged on.
Sometimes shakes were made for the roof sometimes that was left to
the settler. (Willis F Dunbar 256) Inside the cabin a frame was
anchored to a corner to support a leather or rope web to support a
mattress bag to be filled with grass or dry leaves for a bed. A half
loft often needed to be built for additional bed space. Furniture
was often split logs with legs. As time went by better furniture was
made from sawed wood. Tools were made of wood including racks, pegs
to hang things on, three legged stools, plates, bowls, forks,
spoons, wash forks, containers, barrels, wheels the outhouse,
outhouse seat, fences, pens, show shoes, and sometimes even regular
shoes. Occasionally there were gatherings a d celebrations and an
old flute or fiddle was played.

There were no stores
or fast food places and no neighbors. They had to make everything
they needed themselves. Oh and let’s not forget the ever
present mosquitoes. They were everywhere at all times. most pioneers
suffered a bout with malarial fever (better known as the “ague”).
One slogan warned: “Don’t go to Michigan, that land of
ills. The word means AGUE, fever and chills.” There were many
other problems. Imagine being awoke by the sound of your only pig
squealing and to see it being carried off by a bear. At night there
was howling of the wolves outside. It just was not safe to go
outside at night in the early days. Bounties were paid for wolf
scalps. The counties paid a lot of money for them.

In the period
1830-1860 settlers used oxen as primary draft animals because horses
were not strong enough to break some tough grass matted soil and to
pull stumps and hauling logs. Horses were better for lighter faster
work.

And after the crops
were growing of course everyone had to keep an eye on the crops as
birds, squirrels, raccoons, bear, deer, rabbits, livestock, thieves
and other animals could decimate a crop. Warren also had a bounty on
crows. Corn could be picked at any time but wheat had to be cut and
thrashed within a short time. Pioneers used a scythe (big knife on a
long handle) with a basket on it to catch the cuttings. Two men one
cradling and the other binding the bundles could harvest about two
acres a day. (Willis F Dunbar 258)

Determination

The pioneers came with
few tools and against terrific odds and met with determination what
modern people would term impossible problems. They came with the
clothes on their back and a few tools.

Imagine for a moment
being left completely on your own in a forest wilderness with no:
insect repellent, no water, no pop, no food, house or shelter no
super markets, no showers no electrical power, no appliances, no
telephone, no power saws, no gas heat, no running waters no cars,
tractors or trucks, no machines, no radios, TV or entertainment, no
canned foods, pop, beer, no paper products, no bottled milk, or
other packaged foods, no street lights or even streets, no police,
no coffee, no credit cards, no job, no ready made bread, no toilets
no toilet paper or wards catalog. The courageous pioneers did hard
work to fell the trees drain wet areas, construct log cabins, and
till the land.

The Indians had held
the power in the Northwest Territory but the Americans settlers and
armies kept coming. They defeated the American armies several times
until "Mad" Anthony Wayne took over. He was appointed by
President George Washington as commander of the United States Army
of the Northwest in 1792 with the purpose of defending American
settlers from Indian attack. Wayne won against the Indians in 1794.
But there is a lot more to it. Do a Google search on Little Turtle.

The Indian chiefs
realized that the Americans outnumbered them and out armed them and
they could not stop the Americans from coming in. After several
months of talks a big feast was thrown at Fort Greene Ville in Ohio.
The Indians were given fire water, $20,000 in goods and promised
$9,500 more a year in exchange for giving up most of their lands.
They were promised that settlers would not settle any more on the
Indian lands above a certain line. They signed the Treaty of
Greenville. Not only did the Americans break the treaty but they
cheated, killed and moved the Indians off of the land that was
agreed on as belonging to the Indians. And again the Indians had to
fight back at a cost of thousands lives on both sides.

Eviction
of the Indians Evicted from their own land

The Indians had proven
themselves to be excessively brutal cruel savages who tortured,
killed and scalped even women and children and wounded captives.
Then they often became a threat to settlers. They wouldn't knock.
The settler's wife busy in the cabin preparing dinner would be
startled by looking up and surprise there would be standing a savage
demanding to be fed or be given a gift or demanding ransom for some
child they had kidnapped. They were often drunk and often killed
others without apparent reason. Many settlers felt for good reason
that the only good Indian was a dead Indian. Now in all fairness
there were inexcusable acts of cruelty and murder performed by
Europeans also but not usually to the extent of torturing people and
killing women and children and taking slaves. The government decided
the Indians had to go.

Outnumbered, out
weaponed, beaten, out educated, killed, wounded, starved, cheated,
the Indians moved or were moved with cruel force further west and
“civilized” man took over. Some of these peoples had
settled down to farm on land given to them by treaty and land that
their forefathers had lived on for centuries. They had settled down
as farmers and had started schools, built roads, and were living
peacefully. But an Army of 7,000 men came and forced them to march a
thousand miles in the bitter winter or 1838-9 without proper food or
clothing. On one such march over 4,000 men, women and children died.
This was unnecessary inexcusable cruelty. We need a standard of
conduct for humans. The Golden rule would do. Don't do to others
what you don't want done to yourself. This was not a time of war and
these were peaceful people. Google Trail of Tears. The Supreme Court
had even ruled in the Indians favor and Davy Crockett then a
congressman had urged congress not to allow their removal, as did
Chief Justice John Marshall, Daniel Webster and Henry Clay.

How can a country
which was formed on the promise “...that all men are created
equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights, among these the right to life, liberty and the
pursuit of happiness…" allow an Army to remove peaceful
people from their homes and force them to march 1000 miles on foot
in a bitter winter without proper clothing or preparation or food
and water to their deaths? The word, civilized, what does that mean?
Was that civilized behavior. If they could do that then can they do
it now? In World War II we locked up Japanese people who had done
nothing wrong. And a very scary historical observation, recently
government has broken down doors of homes without knocking, without
a warrant, ransacked homes, and removed home owner’s personal
property. Also people have recently been held in jail without a
hearing, in clear violation of the constitution and this practice is
being allowed to continue. And they did not compensate homeowners
for the losses. So you should ask can it happen here.

The dense trees, some
about five feet in diameter at the base and over 200 feet tall, were
cut for homes, fuel and crop land. The area of Center Line was
gradually changed from mature forest and prairies to rural farmland.
There ware areas of swamps and areas of meadows with few trees. SW
Warren was cranberry swamp. These settlers still had no laws and no
police except the sheriff but nearly everyone agreed to live in a
civilized way. Crime was very low during these times. What crimes
happened to isolated settlers was certainly lost to history because
there were no phones, no 911 to call and no law and order around.
But most people were too busy cutting trees, clearing ground,
planting crops, building cabins, gathering food, cooking meals and
doing chores to cause any trouble.

Beebe’s Corner
of Warren sprouted a Tavern, trading post, distillery, a mill and
later other businesses. It has been reported that the main
industries in the early days of the village other than farming was
making of bricks, saw mills, flour and feed mills, and wagon and
buggy making.

After about 1818 we
started to have rule by law. Constables were appointed. People
accused were able to get a fair trial. James Fulton served as the
first Macomb County sheriff from 1818-1822.

Soon the constitution
was the chief law of the land that “establish justice insure
domestic tranquility, provide for the common defense” that
kept the promise of the Declaration of Independence of “liberty
and justice for all” and “secured the blessings of
liberty” was in effect. Courts were established. Laws were
enforced.

Warren Township was
first called Hickory Township probably named after General Andrew
Jackson, known to his men as "Old Hickory." As there is no
evidence that the area was abounding in Hickory trees.

Gerald Neil in his
History of Warren states “On April 3, 1837 an undetermined
number of citizens met at the home of Louis Groesbeck to organize
the government of Hickory Township…This first meeting chose
as its Chairman Avery Denison; as its Clerk, Samuel Gibbs; as
Election Inspectors, Louis Beaufait, Alonzo Haight, and Jenison
Glazier.” The first township officers were: Supervisor was
Samuel Gibbs, Clerk Alonzo Haight; Justices of the Peace, Alonzo
Haight, Lyman Rhodes, Samuel Gibbs, and John Barton. The town board
was made up of Samuel Gibbs, Alonzo Haight, John Barton and Lyman
Rhodes. There was no treasurer for the first two years. Also elected
were three Assessors, three Highway Commissioners, two Overseers of
the poor, three Constables, three Commissioners of Common Schools,
and a Tax Collector. Louis Groesbeck was one of the overseers of the
poor. Actually this meeting was out of order as the state directed
it to be conducted at the home of Louis Chapotan in Orange Township.
The state directed orange township to have the meeting at Louis
Groesbeck's residence in Hickory Township. Later the state accepted
the results anyway. The Township was divided into six road districts
and an overseer was elected over each district. (Gerald Neil
newspaper article Star Reporter May 9, 1957)

Have
you been to Hog’s Hollow? How about Base Line?

Kunrod’s Corners
became a stage stop between Detroit and Utica. Utica was called
Hog’s Hollow back then. The horse drawn stage fare was about
75 cents to Detroit or Utica and double that to Romeo.

The farmers basically
had two places to go, Church and market in Detroit to sell their
crops and meat and to purchase anything they couldn’t make or
grow. The State Road was full of ruts and either dusty or a sea of
mud until it was planked in 1856. Quite a few years later it was
also condemned after the planks rotted then paved with gravel.

After the businesses
Kunrod’s Corners shifted to the Center Line Road at Church
Road (Engleman) after the church was built, the community became
known as Center Line.

There were sawmills
located on 12 and 14 Mile Roads.

Howling
of wolves were frequently heard in the old days.

Bears, Lynx and wolves
would attack anyone too near. So if you had to be vigilant and
careful not to disturb a mother bear and her cubs which was a deadly
mistake.

Gerald Neil who was
working on a History of Warren when I was a boy and who gave me a
copy was an inspiration to many. He had access to the township
records which were later lost. Much of what we know now about Warren
Township is because he cared enough to write it down.

Gerald Neil stated the
first public building in Warren was a pound constructed of logs 30
feet square and eight feet high in 1839. It had a strong gate which
was kept padlocked. It was used to house stray animals and was
located on Gabrel Yates’ farm. He held the position of Pound
master until 1848. The pound was located on his farm near what is
now Sherwood and Eleven Mile Road. (Gerald Neil 8)

Gerald Neil also
points out that “Wolves, bears, and wandering live-stock were
somewhat of a problem, and also crows. Bounties were offered for
wolves, bears and crows and were paid regularly by the town Board.”

Times
of Peace and Joy

Our area is situated
near the Great Lakes which contains the largest amount of fresh
water in the world. The climate is temperate and is mitigated by the
Great Lakes.

There were times of
peace and joy in a beautiful land abounding with deer, bear,
raccoon, muskrat, beaver, woodchuck, chipmunk, squirrel, elk, bison,
porcupine, lemmings, flying squirrels, red wolf, coyote, red and
gray foxes, beavers, wapiti, woodchucks, bob cats, mountain lions,
badgers, striped skunk, otters, mink, weasel, opossum, bats, birds,
and other wildlife. The woods and meadows had many kinds of nuts,
and fruit such as black berries, raspberries. The streams had many
kinds of fish. Yet the archaeological digs show that many people
died of battle wounds and by violence. Our area has also been a kind
of no mans land between warring groups. What a shame that the human
race could not live in peace. Certainly Michigan had ample plants
and game to supply all of their needs. This is not unlike two little
ant hills a few yards apart. One day workers ants from the separate
hills cross paths. Before long the two hills send out armies of
workers to kill each other. You can see them battling and locked in
death grips for days until most are dead. What a waste. They are
surrounded with Ample for All in a land of plenty which has
everything they need. Yet why do they turn to needless violence and
kill each other brutally when there is no need to do this in a land
of ample for all. Humans need to learn to settle disputes with words
not violence. We need rule of law and a standard of conduct for all
humans. What do you students think? What is the basic law of our
land?

As more settlers moved
in land was converted from mature forest to farms. This caused much
of the wildlife to move away. Much wildlife was hunted for food and
sometimes for "sport".

Corrupt politicians
allowed big companies to pollute the land air and water. The fish
became unsafe to eat. Even today mercury levels in Great Lakes fish
are at unsafe levels. Today thousands of people and animals are
dying from pollution related causes.

Today the animals we
have left are robins, blue jays, morning doves, starlings, sparrows,
a few other birds, squirrels, a few raccoons, opossums, skunks,
rats, moles, mice, worms, spiders and insects. The domesticated
animals in the farming days were cows, pigs, chickens, goats, sheep,
horses, oxen, turkeys but now all that is left are cats, dogs and
some exotic pets.

Don't eat the fish
they will make you sick.

Daily
Activities

The Diary of an
American Farmer in Michigan shows how life was in the late 1800s. It
shows: what was done each day, where they went, what the family did,
the weather conditions in Michigan, daily happenings, births and
deaths that in some cases were not recorded by the government. It is
a treasure of daily information of that era. Farm life in Center
Line was dictated by the season and the weather. There were no
weather forecasts. Weather just happened when it did with little or
no warning. The winter forced everyone inside a lot more. Much time
was spent tending the fire. The chores still had to be done. That
means the animals had to be fed, watered and pens cleaned. Cows had
to be milked twice a day. Wood had to be gathered cut and repairs
worked on. Winter was a time to do spinning of wool or flax and to
do weaving and husking. Trips to the outhouse were not fun in the
winter. One certainly did not linger. Roofs and buildings had to be
protected from ice and snow damage. The children still had to go to
school.

Spring on the farm was
welcomed as relief from the cold and from being indoors. Repairing
the tools plowing and sowing were the big items. Hopefully you had
enough seeds to do the job. The boys could get out of school if
their dad needed them to work but often it was hard work. Cleaning
and fixing were common.

Summer heat, no
school, mosquitoes, summer fun weeding, cultivation and hopefully no
one got sick. Late June strawberry season and sore backs from
picking. July raspberry picking and preserving. Early August corn
was ready to be harvested. Late summer was the most difficult time
of the year with harvesting work. Often from sunrise to sunset.
Fourth of July holiday community picnics, food games, fun, fiddle
music singing dancing seeing that favorite girl or boy from other
farms. Sometimes romance. Wild berries had to be picked.

Autumn harvest time
for beans, potatoes, squash, cabbage, wheat, oats, rye, apples, and
other crops. The housewife made preserves, jellies and preserved
various foods for the winter. Various crops like potatoes, pumpkins,
and apples were stored in the cellar. Corn had to be cut, shocked
and husked

Late fall the children
returned to school. The sleighs and snow shoes were prepared for use
when the snow hit. Sometimes there were winter community events, ice
skating, slding, spelling bees and social gatherings. Sundays there
were church services. Some evenings there were singins.

Why were barns painted
red? First in the old days barns were not painted at all. Later red
paint was used because it was cheap and sid not show dirt as much as
other colors.

The
good of the Good Old Days: In general life was slower paced and less
hectic than now.

There was in most
families (not all) Love and Kindness and cooperation. It was thru
cooperation that they survived. American settlers were for the most
part "civilized." They had respect for each other and
acted toward others as they would want to be treated themselves. We
call that the Golden Rule. Although the Indians did sometimes
kill and torture prisoners we cannot blame that on primitive
culture. The Germans and especially the Japanese tortured, raped,
starved to death and even killed people by slow mutilation. Look at
the history of what the Japanese did to the Americans during world
War II. The Japanese excelled in thousands of unspeakable atrocities
to innocent persons including women and children. The Germans
starved and butchered several million innocent nonviolent people
including women and children and cremated them in ovens. A good
source of information is the documentary movie by Ken Burns called
The War available at video rentals or PBS. I have talked to many
survivors of the Holocaust. Now around the world new holocausts are
happening and they are trying to put out propaganda that the
holocaust did not happen. Ask the young Japanese what their country
did in World War II and you will usually find they don't know enough
about their country's terrible atrocities to fill a thimble. And
these types of atrocities are still being allowed and practiced
today.

The
Air and Water were Pure.

People worked harder
physically but were usually happier.

There was singins and
barn dances and preachins and barn raising Bees, and plowin and
quilting Bees. If you read Daniel Stewart's Diary there was even a
farmers traveling band.

If you visited a
neighbor you would most likely be invited for dinner.

Train trips on the old
Steam trains; Less pressure and stress; Few if any bills to pay

No telemarketers; Good
Hunting with lots of wildlife

What
was bad about the Old Days?

Good medical knowledge
and care were nonexistent. No hospitals.

No police, fire,
public safety protection. No ambulances or paramedics; No 911; No
telephones

Prior to the American
Revolution, people were ruled by brute force rather than by Laws

Weapons had to be kept
nearby for protection.

There was a general
lack of knowledge about health and many other important areas.

There were few if any
stores and little choice of things to buy.

Most people were
farmers and had to raise or make nearly everything themselves.

They usually had very
little money to buy things.

There were few
conveniences that we take for granted now.

No electricity or
electric appliances, No TV Radio or Internet

No washing machines or
dryers or electric irons or electric heaters.

No toilet paper, No
flush toilets' One had to go outside to cold outhouse even in
winter.

But some people were
rich enough to have a chamber pot which eliminated the trip outside
at night.

It was unwise to
travel or go outside the safety of a cabin at night. There were wild
cats, wolves, bears etc. roaming around at night. Our pioneers often
reported howling at night from outside.

Most cabins were dark
inside at night because people did not have candles or oil lamps or
fireplaces.

The best place to be
at night was in your bed as primitive as it was.

If pioneers had
domestic animals they had to build a barn as soon as they could to
protect them.

There were no cars,
buses or airplanes; No fast food places or restaurants.

No TV dinners,
freezers, refrigerators or microwave ovens.

No gas, oil or coal
heating. You had to build the fire first to get warm.

And just how was that
fire started without matches?

Cabins were drafty,
and often did not have windows.

Many did not have
fireplaces so there was no heat or drying fire inside.

Cabins usually had
dirt floors and were at ground level which meant that insects,
spiders, mice, snakes and other vermin shared the living quarters.

Beds were primitive,
small and in general not comfortable. They often consisted of piles
of grass or straw. This may have been soft but it meant that you had
to share your bed with various other creatures. Usually with four,
six or eight legs. Later a stuffed mattress was placed on top or a
suspended lattice work of rope. This meant a lot less sharing with
other creatures. Beds often had canopies. This was to prevent
creatures that inhabited or traveled in the roof which may have been
made of straw or wood from falling onto you during your sleep.
Husband and wife slept on a twin size bed. The man often insisted on
"his" husbandly rights. Women often had to bare and raise
8 to 15 children all without the help of a doctor.

Discipline in pioneer
families was extremely strict. Children did what they were told. If
they disobeyed they were severely punished.

Roads were dusty or
muddy trails navigated by foot, horse or wagon or were impassable.

No movies or places of
entertainment; No hamburgers, pizza, McDonald's, Taco Bell etc.

The average person
owned two pairs of clothes one for Sunday.

Underwear was
generally non existent for men and no bras for women.

There were no heated
showers or baths. If you were lucky to own a tub it was usually
about three feet in diameter and the whole family took their baths
in the same water with the father usually going first.

Shoes were awful for
the most part. All were hand made. Most were home made.

Newspapers were not
home delivered; Magazines for the most part did not exist.

There were no
libraries in our area and most people could not read or write.

There were few if any
jobs available you worked your farm or starved and

many people worked
long hours and still had little food.

There was no welfare,
food stamps or Medicaid.

There ware no
medications, painkillers, pills to relieve problems.

Would you want to
trade your present life for that?

As a historian and war
veteran, I feel responsibility and duty to tell the truth. One
function of history is to learn from it. According to experts most
Americans now are not physically fit and most of the soldier age men
are untrained, uncaring and unwilling to defend the country. This
means that we would be easy pickens in a war. Look at what has
happened to other peoples when they became weak. Examples look at
the Romans, and the British Empire. Think the military can protect
you. But there isn't much US military left anymore. The Army has
been largely disbanded and if any crises occur they have to rely on
weekend warriors (The National Guard) who are now stationed in Iraq.
During a terrorist attack or war condition there are not enough
police to protect 99% of the local citizens. Who does that leave to
protect your family? We need to be aware of what is happening and
take steps to be prepared.

If you appreciate your
freedom and way of life thank a veteran. Families living in our area
had members like mine that had fought in the Revolutionary war, the
American Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam. Both St.
Clement Cemetery and Warren Union Cemetery have veterans buried
there. Heronoius Engleman for whom Engleman street was named was a
civil war veteran.

Center Line has a
street named after Paul Hazen a holder of the Silver Star who died
in war. Clem Grobbel fought in Russia. See the story on Mike
Grobbel’s wonderful web site. 7,484 women served in South
Vietnam, Nearly 60,000 Americans died because of it. 2,650 died from
Michigan. Many state that it was a terrible waste. Nearly 10,000
Americans have died in the just few years due to Radical Islam and
as an observer I must comment that it appears that there is no end
in sight. Indeed many of our children may have to fight a war here
in Michigan to preserve their freedom.

Market

As soon as the farmers
raised enough to feed their families they found a ready market in
Detroit for their excess crops and meat. They had horse drawn wagons
and drove to Detroit using either the State Road or if the roads
were dry they would follow the best trail over to Gratiot. There
were several farmers markets in Detroit. Eastern market was founded
in 1841.

Michigan
became a State 1837

January 26, 1837. In
Washington, DC, President Andrew Jackson signs the bill making
Michigan the nation's twenty-sixth state.

Warren
became the 36 square mile square Hickory Township also in 1837.

Shelters were replaced
with log cabins which were replaced by better and better houses.

Gerald Neil in his
History of Warren states “On April 3, 1837 an undetermined
number of citizens met at the home of Louis Groesbeck to organize
the government of Hickory Township…This first meeting chose
as its Chairman Avery Denison; as its Clerk, Samuel Gibbs; as
Election Inspectors, Louis Beaufait, Alonzo Haight, and Jenison
Glazier.” The first township officers were: Supervisor was
Samuel Gibbs, Clerk Alonzo Haight; Justices of the Peace, Alonzo
Haight, Lyman Rhodes, Samuel Gibbs, and John Barton. The town board
was made up of Samuel Gibbs, Alonzo Haight, John Barton and Lyman
Rhodes. There was no treasurer for the first two years. This
information is from the Village records and also recorded in Gerald
Neil's Book.

The legislature gave
to Orange Township the east five square mile sections of Hickory
Township (Warren). But they were restored on April 2, 1838. These
were sections 12, 13, 24, 25, and 36.

Township
Government

The “Town Board”
consisted of a Supervisor, Clerk, Treasurer and two Justices. All
terms of office were for one year (except Justices whose term was
for four years) In 1943 the town board terms were changed to two
years. Elections were held on the first Monday in April at the
Annual Meeting. At these meetings the citizens could change any law
of the township except those set by the State legislature. Voting
was done by hand or voice, since no tabulation of votes is shown
until 1848. All candidates ran as individuals in the early years,
and just when partisan politics first entered is not recorded.
(Gerald Neil 7) Meetings were held in various homes as there were no
public buildings. At least twelve Annual Township meetings were held
at the home of George Corey from 1844-1858.

Abel
and Sarah Warren Pioneers (Thanks to Brandon and Challis Warren)

Abel Warren was a
pioneer Christian circuit preacher and war hero who became
particularly beloved to the early pioneers and was held in very high
esteem so much so that the area near the future village of Warren
was called Abe’s circuit or Warren’s circuit. The area
was later named Aba Township and on March 26, 1839 it was renamed
Warren Township.

“I have fought a
good fight. I have finished my course. I have kept the faith.”
Thus reads the stone of the pioneer Christian preacher and war hero
who married more of Warren’s pioneers and spoke at more of
their burials than any other person. He was Rev Abel Warren born
August 3, 1789 and died Sept 5, 1862. His great grandfather came
across on the Mayflower. His Grandfather Gideon Warren was a
Lieutenant in the French and Indian Wars, joining in 1748. “He
was one of Ethan Allen’s Green Mountain Boys” in
Vermont. He became a Colonel of the 5th Vermont Regiment in the
Revolutionary War. He was wounded in the battle of Ticonderoga.

Abel Warren enlisted
and served his country as a soldier in 1812 holding the rank of
Sergeant. He was seriously wounded and taken prisoner at the battle
of Queens town Heights. Having near death experiences in the war and
as a British prisoner made him aware of the value of life. He became
a Christian in 1817 and joined the Methodist church. In 1824 he and
his wife Sarah became some of the first pioneers in Macomb County
settling just north of Warren. He became a deacon and later an elder
in the church and was the first man to preach in Macomb County, and
“no doubt preached at more funerals and married more couples
than any other man in the county of Macomb, as when well he was
always ready at a moment’s call for either, frequently leaving
the hayfield and going ten or fifteen miles to attend a funeral”,
on foot as horses in those days were very scarce. “As a
pioneer local preacher, he was abundant in labors, traveling on foot
at times twenty-four miles on the Sabbath and preaching three times,
and that after a hard week’s work on the farm, and preaching
as regularly as any stationed, preacher, and spending most of the
winters in special revival work, in Macomb, St Clair and Oakland
Counties, in which hundreds were converted, thus helping to lay the
basis on which rests the magnificent, moral and social
superstructure of this beautiful region of country.” “He
was genial and sympathetic, could weep with those that wept, or
rejoice and smile with the cheerful and happy, and thus was a
welcome guest, either at the wedding festival, and the sick-bed or
funeral obsequies. He had nine children, four sons and five
daughters.” Two of his sons entered the ministry a third has
an important position in the church. Abel Warren had settled in
Macomb County even before Warren Township was settled. The area was
all wilderness and abounded in wildlife. While pausing in the woods
for a moment of prayer and some local wolves started howling so he
held prayer meeting with them. “One Sabbath evening, while
passing through the woods over an Indian trail, he saw just ahead of
him a huge bear. The animal seemed inclined to dispute the right of
way; without apparent fear, the traveler picked up a stick, saying,
‘If you be good, I will, but otherwise we will try titles.’
The bear stepped aside and the Elder pushed forward on his journey.”
From the History of Macomb County. Leeson 1882 p 739.

“The first or
second sermon ever delivered in Lapeer County was preached by 'old
Father Abel Warren,' as he was familiarly called. Mr. Warren
belonged to the M. E. Church and was the pioneer preacher of a large
track of wilderness, embracing this and several adjoining counties.
He must have been a man of many sterling qualities of brain and
heart, judging from the success of his heroic labors and the
affectionate remembrance in which he is still held by the surviving
pioneers.” History of Lapeer County p 33.

“Rev Abel
Warren, of precious memory, was the first minister to find his way
to this town, and probably preached the first sermon in town. For
several years did this noble veteran of the cross visit the people
of the town from his home some twenty miles away in the town of
Washington. It is safe to say that no minister since that time has
had the love and esteem of this people more than did this faithful
and devoted man. In the year 1855 he was preacher in charge on the
circuit, which was nearly the last of his ministerial labors. He has
long since passed to his reward, and his memory is precious with
those who knew him.” History of Lapeer County p 101.

Historian George
Fuller in his book Historic Michigan states that Rev Abel Warren
settled in Shelby in the summer of 1824 and lived there for thirty
nine years. “Being a local preacher, he made his own
appointments, and was at liberty to respond to any call he might
receive, where the people desired his services, and such was the
demand for them that there was hardly a settlement in eastern
Michigan where he was not called at times to preach, either on the
Sabbath, or at the funeral of some departed friend. I doubt that if
there has ever been another minister in Michigan so universally
respected and beloved by all classes, and people of all creeds, as
was Abel Warren, during the thirty-nine years of his life work in
Michigan.” He was the first man licensed to preach in the
State of Michigan. History of Macomb County Leeson 1882.

Rev Abel Warren was a
circuit rider who traveled around Macomb County preaching the story
of Jesus, marrying many pioneers, speaking at many pioneer funerals
and helping to start several churches. He became known as Elder
Warren. His warm personality made him many friends. He ministered to
the spiritual needs of Warren’s early settlers. (from Leeson's
History of Macomb County-1882) It is believed he was instrumental in
the formation of the first Methodist church of Warren in which his
son was one of the earliest temporary pastors. (Went on to pastor
other churches) This was the first church of any denomination formed
in Warren. The circuit riding or walking pastor met with pioneers in
their lonely cabins and not only brought guidance in manners and
morals but also often news. Sometimes he may have brought books. Of
course he performed marriages, spoke at funerals and baptized
believers. It is no wonder he was held in very high esteem by the
early pioneers.

It is highly possible
that Warren was named after this well traveled and well loved man.

Abel Warren was well
loved and spoken very well of in several historical references. He
preached about Jesus in many places around Macomb County and Warren.
Barns sometimes had to be used as there were no other buildings big
enough where people could meet. He may have performed more marriages
than any other local pioneer preacher. His certificates read "By
me (signed) Abel Warren Minister of the Gospel".

Historian Wesley
Arnold located some of his descendants and they feel that since he
was so well respected in the area and that family legends are such
that it is very likely that the citizens wanted to honor him by
naming the township after him. First by calling it Aba’s (Many
of the pioneers spoke different languages and Aba was a
mispronouncement of Abel’s circuit) then later by calling it
Warren’s circuit which got shortened to Warren.

They were the
pioneers. Most important these were decent, hard working people who
first had to face life in the wilderness without any modern things
we call necessities. They had to first build a protective shelter to
protect themselves from the animals that could kill them. This had
to be done before nightfall. They had to obtain water and food from
the wilderness as there were no stores or restaurants just miles of
woods and swamps with no roads or civilization. They had to be on
constant guard against attack not only from animals but also from
murderous humans. Then they had to clear land, plant crops, create
tools, build better shelters for themselves and their animals. There
was no electricity, no machines, no tractors, no trucks or cars, no
plastic or paper products. All cooking had to be done outside rain
or shine until a chimney and log cabin could be constructed. A roof
had to be constructed that could keep out the rain, cold and protect
them from the hoards of mosquitoes.

A bed had to be built
from native materials and raised off of the floor.

Indeed there were
hundreds of things that had to be done to create a working farm. It
took several years of real struggle. And they succeeded.

They
worked to create a better life for their children and grandchildren.

They created schools
and churches. They taught good values to their children. Everyone
had to pull their own weight. There was no welfare or food stamps.
You worked or starved. Sometimes you worked and still did without.

They were law abiding,
conscientious decent people that treated others as they would want
to be teamed themselves. And they brought no harm to another by
their actions or inaction.

They should be
respected and honored.

Who
was the Warren of Warren Michigan? It had to be our Abel Warren.

This
does not take away from the fact that the Warren City council acting
without the above knowledge voted that it was generally considered
that it was named after a hero of Bunker Hill Joseph Warren who
never set foot in our area and was not even known to our pioneers
who lived here. Joseph Warren had died 64 years earlier. Joseph
Warren was born in Roxbury, Mass. 11 June, 1741; died in
Charlestown, Mass., 17 June, 1775 in the battle of The Battle of
Bunker Hill in the United States Revolutionary War for Independence.
On 18 April, observing the movements of the British troops, Dr.
Warren dispatched William Dawes, and Paul Revere to sound the alarm
to the American people. He was chosen as president Provincial
congress, and thus became chief executive officer of Massachusetts
under this provisional government. On 14 June he was chosen second
major-general of tile Massachusetts forces. On the 16th he presided
over the Provincial congress. The next day upon hearing that the
British troops had landed at Charlestown, he rode over to Bunker
Hill. As he was rallying the militia, he was struck in the head by a
musket-ball and instantly kilted.

Both of these Warrens
were war heroes and had honorable lives and both deserve to be
remembered. But which one was actually the one they named the
Township after is not important. We think that Harold Stilwell
favored Able but a big problem in history is that people fail to
write it down. We know that the pioneers admired the local Abel
Warren. We are reasonably sure that they did not even know about
Joseph Warren. So let’s honor both of them. There is room to
do this. So let the Warren name honor two great men both named
Warren. And let it honor a great pioneer family. It is the right
thing to do and it is what the pioneers themselves would have
wanted.

In 1838 the five
sections that had been taken away were restored and Hickory Township
was renamed Aba Township. Eleven months later Aba was allowed to
adopt the name of Warren Township. It is most likely that the
citizens wanted to honor Abel Warren's circuit by naming the
township after him. First by calling it Aba’s (Many of the
pioneers spoke different languages and Aba was a mispronouncement of
Abel’s circuit) then later by calling it Warren’s
circuit which got shortened to Warren.

The population of
Warren Township was 249 in 1837, 337 in 1840, and 421 in 1845.
The new immigrants were mostly farmers, from New England.

The following was
excerpted from Leeson's History of Macomb County, Michigan,
pp.852ff. “The township of Warren was erected under the name
of Hickory March 11, 1837. Under an act approved April 2, 1838, all
that portion of Macomb known as Sections 12, 13, 24, 25 and 36 in
Township 1 north, of Range 12 east, was set off from the town of
Orange and annexed to the town of Hickory. Under the same act, the
name of the township of Hickory was changed to that of Aba. It
retained this name until March 25, 1838, when it received its
present title -- Warren. The first town meeting was held at the
house of Louis Groesbeck, April 3, 1837, with Avery Dennison,
Moderator; Samuel Gibbs, Clerk; Louis Beaufait, Alonzo Haight and
Jenison F. Glazier, Inspectors of Election. Samuel Gibbs was elected
Supervisor; Alonzo Haight, Clerk; Louis L. Beaufait, Collector;
Harris Corey, Loring Hawley, L. L. Beaufait, Assessors; Peter
Gillett, John H. Barton, Loring Hawley, Commissioners of Highways;
Northrup Jones and Louis Groesbeck, Overseers of the Poor; James N.
Bruce, with Beaufait and Corey, were elected Constables. Avery
Dennison, Sam Gibbs, Lyman E. Rhodes, Commissioners of Schools. “

The village of Warren
in this township was settled at an early day. It is twelve miles
southwest of Mt. Clemens and fourteen north of Detroit. Its location
is within a half mile of the D. & B.C.R.R., which renders the
place a suburb of Detroit. It is a fine agricultural section, which
is devoted to farming, market gardening, grain, vegetables and
fruit. There are Methodist and Lutheran churches, a district school
and a steam feed mill and foundry in the hamlet. Its conservatism in
respect to population is remarkable. The census returns of 1880
credit it with being the center of 150 people. Similar returns for
years past have accorded to the little hamlet precisely the same
number. Among the early settlers were the Groesbecks, Joseph Jerome,
Harris Corey, Joseph Mosho and George Bolam, many of whom have left
families, members of which still reside in the township. Among the
business and professional men of the village are John Ames, Milo
Ames, Oliver Barton, J. L. Beebe, C. Davy, William Cole, D. L. Case,
Frink & Murthum, L. Groesbeck, Silas E. Halsey, John Hartman,
Rev. A Harwood, W. Helzenger, E. Lawrence, F. McCall, William
McMullen, Judson C. Mason, E. Mores, C. Sanderson, Edward Tharrett,
G.B. Walker, G. Whitten, Rev. William Young.”

Warren Village had
wooden planked sidewalks and the streets were lit with gasoline
lamps that required the services of a lamplighter. A.C. Lyons and
Frank J. Licht both served in this capacity. They were replaced with
electric lamps in 1913.

A stage ran from
Detroit to Utica. Beebe’s was about half way. Mr. A
Bielman ran The Warren Hotel located at the northeast corner of
Mound and Chicago roads.

In 1849 Gottlieb and
Susan Bunert bought the 80-acre farm now known as the Bunert-Weier
Farm. They built a log cabin. The brick house was built in 1876, the
barn in 1883 and the carriage garage in 1892. They farmed the land,
raised livestock and had their own sawmill. This was Warren’s
last working farm. On the land behind the farm was a long flat hill
that long ago may have been an Indian burial site. The family also
told Wesley Arnold that after the farm was subdivided some of the
new neighbors complained about the farm guinea hens and chickens
making noise in the morning. The neighbors wanted to shut down the
farm. The Weier family patiently asked them didn’t they not
see the chickens running around, and hadn’t they heard about
the rooster going cockle doodle do in the morning when they were in
school and so why did they buy property next to a working farm that
had been working for over 100 years and not expect a few sounds in
the morning.

By late 1840’s
the government land was soon sold out and owners of large tracts of
land were reselling their original grant lands.

Transportation

Transportation in our
area for most of its history was by foot or show shoes and canoe.
For thousands of years there were no cars, or vehicles. There were
no roads at all. There were foot trails thru the woods. Horses and
other livestock were introduced in our area after 1818. Horses were
utilized until the late 1930s.

A stage ran from
Detroit to Utica in the early 1800s. Beebe’s was about half
way.

The State Road was
located on present day Sherwood road. The little settlement located
near what is now Ten mile road and Sherwood was called Kunrod’s
corners. The corners became a stage stop between Detroit and Utica.
The horse drawn stage fare was about 75 cents to Detroit or Utica
and double that to Romeo. By 1830 there was a stage line running
from Detroit to Romeo and another to Ft. Gratiot. The stage line
followed the State Road which followed Sherwood. Kunrod’s
Corners at ten mile road was a stop on this route. Beebe’s
corners was next.

First railroad Line in
the West. In 1836 the Erie and Kalamazoo railroad line reached
Adrian Michigan and had stage connections to other areas. Several
stage lines began around this time.

Soon railroads were
built locally. A rail road was built along the State Road running
from Detroit to Shelby and later to Utica. It was started about
1838. At first it had wooden rails, poles strapped to logs then
later iron rails. The single railroad car was pulled by horses.
Later iron straps were placed on top of the wood. But once in awhile
they would get caught curl up and pass thru the floor of the train
car injuring passengers. Later the train cars were armor ed so that
the straps could not hurt passengers. This was improved by the
Detroit and Bay City Railway company who laid rails and began to run
to Bay City about 1860. The Warren stop was called Spinnings
Junction. It was just south of 14 Mile Road. Later steam engines
were used. After the New Your Central took over they placed a
station at Chicago Road.

The Grand Trunk on the
east from Detroit to Port Huron went thru Warren in 1859. Thomas
Edison worked as a newsboy and candy seller on this line. He also
sold the first newspaper he printed on the train called the Weekly
Herald.

The huge engines were
a wonder to behold and their whistles could be heard for miles. The
coming of the railroad prior to the civil war just speeded things
up. Although the closest station was at Beebe's Corners (Warren) at
Mound and Chicago Road, the train would stop if signaled.

1880-1914 Steam
tractors had wide use. Herman Weir had several in use on his farm.
One ran a saw mill. It was fascinating to watch these big engines
run.

Then the Trolleys,
were followed by Cars, Aircraft, Spacecraft Inter-urbans were
planned but the only one that got into Warren was one that ran from
Detroit to just north of Ten Mile road on Van Dyke. They ran about
once an hour and fare was five cents. A lot of growth in southern
Center Line was due to the great service these inter-urbans
provided. They ran from 1901-1930.

Some of our residents
may have left Michigan to try to make a fortune in the California
Gold Rush and some moved to other states or further north in
Michigan. There was a quite large turn over of land ownership in
Center Line . Some of the early pioneers were rather crude
individuals who did not like company. Some folks preferred the
frontier while other preferred to settle down and farm. Davy
Crockett said when you can see the smoke of your neighbors chimney
its time to move.

Statewide
fire

In the Fall of 1871
there was a drought over much of the Great Lakes. Debris from
logging and land clearing was tender-dry. Wells went dry, crops
failed, streams shrank.. On October 8 a great wildfire struck the
town of Peshtigo, Wisconsin killing 1300 people and the fire spread
to Michigan. It burned over 1,100,000 acres. Another fire destroyed
Chicago. Additional fires across the state resulted in at least 200
deaths. Ten years later another fire struck the area between Saginaw
Bay and Lake Huron which was completely devastated. The Fire burned
for over a month. Over 2 million acres were burned and hundreds of
families lost everything. Farmers reported that the skies were dark
with smoke for several days.

In 1872 Alex J
Groesbeck was born in a farmhouse near 12 mile and Mound. He later
went on to become the 30th Governor of the State of Michigan in 1921
and the first three term Governor. He was noted for "bringing
Michigan out of the mud" by initiating the state's modern
system of highways. M-97, also known as Groesbeck Highway is named
in his honor. He died in 1953.

Village
of Warren

The little farming
community wanted to have more services than the township was
providing so they decided to form a village. Charles Groesbeck also
wrote the village charter and was paid $3 for his services. Beebe’s
settlement grew and was incorporated as Warren Village in 1893
encompassing a one square mile area from 13 Mile Road to 14 Mile
Road and extending one-half mile either side of Mound Road. Doctor
John D Flynn was elected as the first president. Charles Beebe was
Clerk, and Robert Tharrett was Treasurer.

Fire
and Police

There was no fire
department or police department for nearly all of the history of our
area. Only since the forming of a village was there any fire
protection and that was next to useless until water mains with fire
hydrants were activated. Until that time if the oil lamps or candles
used for lighting caught the house or barn on fire all one could do
was get out and try to save a few valuables. Everything you had
would be destroyed. And there was no insurance. There were no phones
to call for help.

The village hall was
built in1922. It is located at 5961 Beebe at Flynn. It first housed
the offices of the village officials. It served also as a voting
place. On the west side of this building was a small wooden
structure that was sometimes used as a jail. The Warren Volunteer
Fire Department was housed in an east addition to this building in
1946. The west side of the building housed the Warren Community
Library from 1949-1957. In 1992 when the fire department moved out
it was turned over for use by The Friends of the Warren Library, The
Village Historic District Commission and the City of Warren Crime
Commission. In 1938 Chrysler Corporation donated a fire truck and
the first fire hall was built (in 1939) next to the Township Hall at
Van Dyke and 11 Mile roads. Two firemen were hired. From a modest
beginning of volunteer fireman with no equipment to a volunteer fire
department with two full time men Warren’s fire department
grew to one of the best in the country.

In 1939 Warren's first
fire station was built. Vern Lumex and William Van Hulle were hired
as fireman. Salary was $130 a month. They still had volunteer
firefighters. In 1951 two more fire halls were built. In 1955 the
Nine Mile and Federal fire hall was built followed some time later
by the fire hall on Twelve Mile Road by Hoover. In 1957 William Burr
was hired as Fire Commissioner.

Gradually the roads
and sewers were improved, new public buildings built, more fire
stations built, fire equipment purchased and staff hired.

Police protection
which had been under County Sheriff moved to Warren Township control
in 1950.

Locally elected warren
constables assisted the Sheriff until 1927. In the early 1920s the
Sheriff established a Warren branch office with one and sometimes
two regular officers and a few special deputies. In April 1927Henry
Kuhn and Charles Krause were the local sheriffs officers. The Town
board appointed ray bush as Township Officer to with with the
Sheriff's deputies. In 1937 Max Bookout and George Collins were
appointed as our first Policemen at $175 per month. Collins was
appointed as Warren's first Police Chief. He also had special police
John Munro, John south and William Romano. (Gerald Neil 21) There
was a dispute about whether or not the township could have police.
After an opinion by the Attorney General the Board voted on April
20, 1938 to disband the Police. But on May 5, 1938 the Board
appointed Henry Kuhn and Charles Krause as Officers. On Jan 12, 1939
these two men were transferred to the Macomb County payroll and
Edwin Sherrill and William Van Hulle were hired as officers. In the
troubled 1940s supervisors acted as ex-officio Police Chiefs. Vern
Lumex was borrowed from the fire Department to be Police
Commissioner. William Romano and Alfred Maletta served as Police
Chief later in the 1940s. (Gerald Neil 21) In 1951 Police
commissioner was Stanley Hamacher a retired Police inspector from
Detroit moved into quarters at 9 Mile and Memphis. (Gerald Neil 22)

There was no law and
order for thousands of years. It was rule by brute force. Anyone
could do whatever they wanted to others including attacking them,
killing them, or cutting off parts of their body (such as cutting
off the scalp to sell it and leaving them to die of the pain and
infection). There was no punishment for these crimes. Your property
could be stolen or burned and you had no recourse. Only after 1818
was there some semblance of law and order but there was only one
part time sheriff for the entire county for many years. Villages
were formed partly to provide law and order for citizens. The
villages usually appointed a part time constable but still there
were no phones to call for help when needed. As Warren and Center
Line grew they created police departments, fire departments and
court systems. This worked very well and our area had very low crime
and fire statistics. However if law and order is not maintained by
local police and effective justice by judges and government, law and
order can break down and has already in many parts of the world.

Crime was relatively
low in Warren Township until after World War I. Then with the
automobile it was easier to get away. People had more personal
belongings. Even then few people locked their house or car. People
had been taught personal responsibility as children and most
practiced it and the golden rule.

At this time there was
a growing awareness of public health issues and government started
taking steps to protect the public.

Liquor

Fire water was a major
cause of the defeat of the Indians. The Michigan Territory
controlled liquor traffic. “Sale of intoxicating spirits to
Indians, minors, servants, soldiers and prisoners was forbidden as
well as were all Sunday sales.” (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 88)
Sellers were also required to be licensed. By 1830 Temperance
societies began to form. In Detroit there was one bar for each 13
families by 1934. Then the State constitution of 1850 changed that.
In 1853 the Democratic legislature passes a law prohibiting the
manufacture of intoxicating beverages and the traffic therein. The
Women's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was established in
Michigan in 1874. A Prohibition Party was created. Red Ribbon
societies were formed. All of these worked for prohibition. The
state legislature rescinded the prohibition law in 1875.

There were several
different organizations in Macomb County. The Eighteenth Amendment
of the United States Constitution, along with the Volstead Act
(which defined "intoxicating liquors" excluding those used
for religious purposes and sales throughout the U.S.), established
Prohibition in the United States. Its ratification was certified on
January 16, 1919. It was the only amendment to the Constitution that
has been repealed by the Twenty-first Amendment in1933. During this
time the Detroit area was a hotbed of illegal activity. There were
many speak-easys even in Warren. Clem's Pour House was a speakeasy
that was open 24-7. You could not get in unless you were known and
trusted by someone inside. “As many as 25,000 illicit saloons,
or “blind pigs”, operated in Detroit and did a $215
million business. The New York Times accurately proclaimed that
Detroit was the “Rum Capital of the Nation” and that
liquor trafficking was Michigan's second leading industry. (Lawrence
E. Ziewacz 228)

Our
Libraries

Both Center Line and
Warren public libraries were started when local citizens got
together collected books and found a place to place them. In Center
Line a group of men formed the Men's Club of Center Line. This was
in 1928 before there were any Rotary or Lions clubs etc. They
accumulated about 500 volumes. The library was housed in the
basement of the Center Line Community Church which later became the
Presbyterian Church. It was housed later to several stores then to
the above pictured Center Line recreation building. Finally it moved
to its present building.

Warren’s first
library came about at the Joiner House which was built in 1895 by
Robert and Eliza Joiner. In 1935 this is where Warren’s first
library was located. (in the front parlor) Through the efforts of a
local group of three women (Miss Elkin, Mrs. Parrott and Mrs. Zorn)
the Warren Community Library was formed. The committee managed to
get 516 books donated to it and borrowed another 200 from the state.
Three community women headed up the committee and Chris Anna Zorn
donated the use of her Sunday parlor for the use of the library. In
1936 the village council accepted the library as an official village
institution. By 1940 it had moved to larger quarters twice and grown
to a collection of 5,000 books.

Poverty

Back in the old days
most people worked supported themselves on the farm. Except during
crop failures most people in Michigan did not suffer for lack of
food, clothing or basic needs. Granted they did not have much in
worldly goods but they did not feel poor. And most were fairly
happy. There was some poverty but that was usually due to physical
or mental conditions, illness, disasters or occasional laziness. But
most neighbors would help out a sick neighbor. There were poor
houses and orphanages. Most people supported themselves in their
family groups.

When our area went
into an industrialized, then service economy people were no longer
on a farm where they could grow their own food. Jobs were dependent
on several other factors. We have more homeless today and more
poverty than we ever had before. This is partly because of corporate
greed and an alienated society in which everyone seems to be in it
for themselves and hardly anyone is looking out for the welfare of
others. Look at Kmart. The executives milked the company day with
huge pay increases and benefit packages and had golden parachutes
that gave them a future lifetime of security at the expense of the
poor minimum wage worker. Then after the big executives got out they
brought in a hotdog who sacked the company and sold it off leaving
workers without jobs or benefits. Now banks were given a huge
taxpayer bailout and our reward is to have out interest rates go
thru the roof. Mortgage companies refused to work with homeowners
and force them to have to give up their homes causing homelessness.
Then the Congress bails these selfish bankers out. The whole cycle
of selfishness has caused record unemployment and loss of homes in
Center Line . Meanwhile politicians and executives have given
themselves raises.

Lighting

Of course early
pioneers had daylight and moon light and often nothing else except
fire light. Candles gave out a good amount of light often enough to
read by or for general home lighting. The first lamps were oil lamps
of a flat nature often called whale oil lamps. Early lamps used a
variety of fuels. Early lighting fuels consisted of olive oil,
beeswax, fish oil, whale oil, sesame oil, nut oil, etc. Naphtha
lamps used paraffin. These were followed by lamps with wicks. These
were improved upon and came in many shapes and sizes. Gas lights
were used to illuminate streets. Kerosene lamps came in about the
time of the civil war. Acetylene lamps were popular for outside use
because the flame was resistant to wind and rain. Another name for
these was Carbide lamp. They produced good bright light by simply
adding drops of water to calcium carbide. These are used by minors,
cavers and were used on old car headlights.

Developers
and Builders Pipers Farms

Most of Warren’s
homes and properties were sold by developers and builders. Pipers
Farms led the way in Southern Warren known as Baseline. He bought
property along Van Dyke and opened a sales office where the
interurban could stop. Thanks to the wonderful work of Jack Schram
who researched transportation in our area we have some pictures. He
also donated most of our street car pictures.

Our
Churches

The first church
services were conducted outside. The services consisted of
meditation and sometimes dancing and storytelling. Religious rites
were practiced by native peoples for thousands of years. Settlers
held religious prayers in their cabins and had outdoor get-togethers
prior to the building of churches. Pioneers also met together in
cabins or made the long trek to Detroit before they built their own
churches.

There was a Methodist
church group in Warren before 1850.

The First Methodist
Church of Warren was started about 1853 and a log chapel built. This
building was replaced in 1857. It is now the oldest structure within
the Warren Village area. This church first stood to the east of the
Warren Union Cemetery on the side of the Creek Road (Chicago Road).
It was moved to its present location at Seventh and Fillmore in
1884.

About 1850 a group
representing the Warren Township outpost of St Peters Evangelical
Church of halfway met in the old Methodist Church across mound Road.
In 1864 they organized St Paul Evangelical Church. The current
impressive building was built in 1894. It had a steeple that towered
35 feet above the belfry but lightening destroyed the steeple in
1921. Records were kept in German just like the sister church St
Clement church that had records in German and Latin.

By 1875 the Warren
Beebe’s corners had two churches The Methodist Church and St
Paul's Church. Note there is a Beebe's corners in Richmond where
even more Beebes settled.

In 1853 the people
decided they wanted a catholic church and in 1854 the first of four
St, Clement churches was built on Van Dyke between Church Street.
Before this little wooden church was built on Church Road (now
Engleman) and the "centre line" residents had made long
rides to St. Mary's in downtown Detroit or Assumption on Gratiot at
Six Mile Road. In bad weather the roads were almost impassible. The
wagons had no heaters in winter. The community known as Kunrod’s
corners was centered around State Road (now Sherwood) and Ten Mile
Road which was a dirt or mud path. The local citizens who were
mostly immigrants from Germany, Ireland, France and Belgium, decided
that then wanted a church in the nearby area. The St Clement Parish
was established in 1850 and met in local homes. An actual church
building was not constructed until four years later. The local
people decided that they wanted a church to be built on the west
side of the “Centre Line”. This was the center road of
Warren Township (now Van Dyke). They felt that they would not be
able to get to church in the spring and fall when the roads turned
to mud seas, especially over by Kunrod’s corners as this was
the lowest area near by the creek. Also more residents lived nearer
to the East side location. Peter Rotarius donated two acres of his
land on the land on the west side of the “Centre line”.
Next to him was Johann Weingartz who donated an acre. Later Mathias
and Josepf Miller donated two acres of land they had been given as
payment for work they had done for Joseph Cramer. The community
voted to establish on the East side of the "centre line."
Additional properties were donated and several parcels of land were
raffled and the money used to buy six acres of the Cramer-Clemens
farm. The parish may have been named St Clement after Mr. Clemens.
The parish boundaries were from Woodward to Lake St Clair and from
Eight Mile to Fourteen Mile Roads. In 1854 a simple wood frame
church building was built. In 1857 a one-room school was erected.
The parish was served by visiting priests until 1858 when Father
Henry Meuffels became the first resident priest. In 1868 an addition
was put on to the wood frame church.

In trying to read the
pastors writing as I worked on this history, I was told that they
went to a different school of handwriting. I don’t know about
that but they sure sometimes got careless about good penmanship.
When all of the letters look like undotted i’s than something
is wrong. Plus I had to buy two Latin books to figure out the
meanings as the records are in Latin. Father William Hendrickx
became the pastor in 1868. He spoke several languages. In 1880 a new
brick St Clement was built based on the plans for the Sacred heart
Church in Detroit. Its dimensions were 136 feet by 54 with five
entrances and fifteen stained glass windows. It cost $18,000. Later
the frame church was removed in order to build a new brick school
with two classrooms and an auditorium. In 1890 the new Pastor Father
Kramer convinced three sisters of Providence of St Mary’s of
the Woods, Vigo County Indiana to come here to teach.

They were replaced in
1892 by the Sisters of St. Dominic from Racine, Wisconsin. In 1896
an upper story was added to the small schoolhouse and was quickly
turned into a hall where school children put on plays and held
recitals.

The Official St
Clement’s history states that picnics were held across from
the church in Engleman grove and that a platform was built for
dancing and a German Band played music.

By the year 1916, 182
students were enrolled at St. Clement School. That number rose to
600 students by 1920. The pressing need for a new and larger school
led to the construction of a two-story, 16 room brick and concrete
school. It had a high school and auditorium with a 1,000 seat
capacity. The first high school graduating class, in 1926, consisted
of one person Ester Delia Schnoblen (Smith). In 1952 Father Timothy
Murray became pastor of St. Clement and ground was broken for a new
school to accommodate 1,300 students. In 1960 work was begun on the
present modern church with 65 foot-high vaulted ceiling, gables
forming a cross, hundreds of panes of stained glass and seating
capacity for 1,600. It also has a 130 foot bell tower.

Some of the oldest
structures in Center Line lie hidden inside some of the older
houses. One would find hand hewn beams and may be wooden pegs.

The Community Church
in Center Line was built in 1924.

The Bethel Methodist
Church on Packard in Center Line was built in the 1920’s.

The Trinity Lutheran
Church is located one block south of Stephens and one block East of
Van Dyke at 8150 Chapp in Warren.

History
of At Anne Parish (From the church web site)

In August 1943, four
mothers from the Village of Warren area went to the Chancery Office
to see Archbishop Mooney regarding religious instruction for the
children of the village. The Archbishop assured them that
instruction classes would be started, but could give them little
assurance of a parish due to the number of priests then engaged as
Chaplains in the War

In September 1943,
instruction classes were begun in the Sisters' convent on Van Dyke,
the Mother house of the Slovak-Dominican Sisters. In the Spring of
1944, Mr. Norman Halmich, then Postmaster and Storekeeper, displayed
in his store a petition to be signed by Catholic parents for
religious instruction of children in Warren. In late June, 1944, the
Mission Helpers of the Sacred Heart, four in number, opened a
vacation school in an empty store on Chicago Road. This, too, was
inadequate, in space, so the vacation school was mainly held under
the trees in the Village Park. In the Fall the same Mission Helpers
returned to Warren weekly for Saturday instructions, held in the
Village Barn. In December, a Christmas Program was conducted in the
Barn for the parents and children. It was at this meeting that
discussion arose regarding the possibility of establishing a parish
in Warren. Enthusiasm ran high, with the result that a total of
$2,500.00 was donated for a parish. The money was forwarded to the
Chancery Office for future use.

In March of 1945,
announcement was made from the Chancery Office that a parish was to
be established in the vicinity of Mound and 13 Mile Roads. Fr. Frank
J. Walsh was given the assignment.

Among the men
attending the next meeting at the Doctor's home was the late Mr.
Norman Halmich who graciously donated five acres of land on Mound
Road at Arden Avenue. Later on, foreseeing the future need of the
parish he donated another five acres adjacent to the original five,
which now comprises the present parish property.

The First Church was
the Warren Village Barn, which was purchased for $14,000. The first
Mass was said in the remodeled barn Easter Sunday April, 1946. At
this time there were 225 families.

St. Anne Parish
originally comprised twenty square miles, from 12 Mile to 16 Mile
Roads, and from Dequindre to Schoenherr. Due to the enormous growth
of the City of Warren, other parishes were established. Ground for
the new Church was broken on April 5th, 1964, and the twenty-year
dream became a reality. In the summer of 1977 plans were made to
renovate St. Anne Church.

St.
Edmund Parish (From the church web site)

Fr. McGoldrick began
his pastorate by immediately organizing the St. Edmund Parish
community. Sunday masses were held in the gymnasium of Charwood
School on Schoenherr north of 11-Mile Rd. With the assistance of
priests from the Passionist Monastary in Detroit. St. Edmund Parish
grew to approximately 2,500 families, necessitating the aid of an
assistant pastor and a new church. Fr. Joseph F. Janes was appointed
the first assistant. A permanent church was built and its dedication
took place on April 19,1969. Approximately 2300 families are
registered at St. Edmund’s. Mass is celebrated daily at 9am
except Saturday. There is a liturgy on Saturday at 5:30pm and on
Sunday at 8:30am, 10am and 12 Noon.

In 1872 Alex J
Groesbeck was born in a farmhouse near 12 mile and Mound. He later
went on to become the 30th Governor of the State of Michigan in 1921
and the first three term Governor. He was noted for "bringing
Michigan out of the mud" by initiating the state's modern
system of highways. M-97, also known as Groesbeck Highway is named
in his honor. He died in 1953.

1851 sewing machine
invented and by 1860 100,000 were sold.

1852 cast iron stoves
were becoming common.

1854 the first of four
St, Clement churches was built on Van Dyke between Church Street

1861 bicycle,

In 1863 Joseph Buechel
built the first general store at Ten Mile and State Road in Center
Line

By 1875 Beebe’s
corners had two churches a school and several businesses.

The State Road was
located on present day Sherwood road. The little settlement located
near what is now Ten mile road and Sherwood was called Kunrod’s
corners. This became a stage stop between Detroit and Utica. The
horse drawn stage fare was about 75 cents to Detroit or Utica and
double that to Romeo.

In 1850 the population
of Warren Township was 700-750. There was even quicker growth as
population figures show. 997 in 1854, 1335 in 1860, 1468 in 1864,
1938 in 1870, 2214 in 1874, 2401 in 1880, 2384 in 1884, 2423 in
1890, 2592 in 1894.

In 1889 The Gurton
Hoard built a home which still exists as the Lyle Elliott Funeral
Home located at 31730 Mound. This building was a day’s buggy
ride from Utica to Detroit and was used as a hotel and later as a
residence, boarding house, doctor’s office and apartments.

1893 electric irons
were the first commonly available electric appliance,

1890 18.9% of all
women worked outside the home. 40.5% of single women were in the
paid labor force, but just 4.6% of married women worked outside the
home.

1900 Sewing needles
could be bought at the general store.

1900 Among American
women, 20.6% worked in the paid labor force. 43.5% of unmarried
women held jobs; 5.6% of married women worked outside the home.
Among wage-earning women in America, 50% were either farmhands or
domestic servants.

Ladies the bra was
invented by Mary Jacob in 1913. these replaced corsets.

1914 electric washing
machine,

1914 canneries
produced many food products in tin cans

1916 refrigerator cost
$900 then by 1920 10,000 were sold, by 1925 75,000 were sold.

1910 Center Line and
Warren soon had electricity and phones

Better and better
houses replaced log cabins and first frame houses.

Locals

There are several
locals included in Warren Township. The biggest of course is Center
Line, which is a mile and one half rectangular in the very middle of
Warren Township. There was Base Line, Van Dyke, and Fitzgerald.
Outside of the Warren area was Halfway (now East Pointe), Hogs
Hollow (Utica)

Base Line - Post
office in area bordered on the south by 8 Mile Road; annexed by
Warren when it became a city in 1957.

The following partial
list is from: Macomb County Extinct Towns, Railroad Stops, &
Place Name Changes compiled by Cynthia Ladensack Reference Librarian
Mount Clemens Public Library.

Beebe’s Corners
- Settlement in Warren Township located south of Red Run Creek near
Chicago Road between Mound and Van Dyke.

Bath City Mt Clemens

Burk's (Burke’s)
Corners - Earlier name of Armada.

Butts - Interurban
stop located on the Oakland / Macomb County border in Washington
Township at Washington and Dequindre Roads.

Cady’s Corners
(Cady) - Small town in Clinton Township at Moravian Drive and Utica
Rd settled in 1833.

Campau - Rural post
office near Mount Clemens opened in April 1899 and closed in May
1900.

Casino - Village in
Clinton Township at Canal and Clinton River Roads near the site of
1700s Moravian settlement; later called Frederick.

Centre Line - Original
spelling of Center Line.

Clintondale - Name
proposed when Clinton Township sought to incorporate as a city in
1967; the proposal failed. See also Clinton Valley.

Spinnings-Railroad
station in Warren Twp at 14 Mile Road between Mound and Van Dyke.

Van Dyke -Village
located around Van Dyke north of 8 Mile Road; platted in 1917

Warren Station -
Railroad stop located at 10 Mile Road and Sherwood.

Van Dyke

As described just
above was an unofficial village located around Van Dyke just north
of 8 Mile Road. It was platted in 1917. Mr Piper sold numerous lots
and named the streets after cars. The citizens of that village tried
to incorporate three times between 1924 and 1935. Two moves were
made to annex to Detroit but Detroit did not want them. (Gerald Neil
17)

East
Detroit Annexation

Warren township
services were so lacking in the 1920s that citizens living next to
East Detroit sucessfully got themselves annexed to East Detroit.
This removed a strip 1200 feet wide from from 8 Mile Road to 9 ½
Mile Road. To asdd insult jto injury Warren had to pay East Detroit
$2,984 in unexpended taxes. (Gerald Neil 17)

Pioneer
Cemeteries

Our area had many
burial places. For thousands of years persons who died were left to
be eaten by animals. Europeans also often left the dead to be eaten
by animals. After 1818 settlers buried their dead in shallow graves
not far from where they died in the back yard, without a casket or
stone marker. After 1850-1855 most of the dead were buried in one of
three cemeteries:

Oldest
Warren Cemetery

The Bidell-Green-Weier
Cemetery, The Warren Union Cemetery or the St Clement Cemetery.
After 1880 many were buried at Mt Olivet. There were almost no grave
stone makers locally until after 1855. Many were buried without a
casket or marker.

Both the St Clement
and Warren Union cemeteries date from 1850-1855 but both appear to
be preceded by the Bidell-Green-Weier Cemetery.

In Warren Township the
oldest recorded cemetery burials were at the Warren Union Cemetery,
followed by the St Clement Cemetery. But between the A Bunert
Farmhouse and the C Bunert Farmhouse Just N of Martin Road and West
of Bunert Road, was an Indian mound which was reported to be 18 feet
tall. I think it is more likely that it was 18 inches high. It was
most likely an Indian burial mound but this is uncertain. This mound
existed prior to the settlement of their farm in 1849. It had become
overgrown with weeds and shrubs so much that it was not particularly
recognizable as an Indian mound and was missed on the early surveys.
The settlers certainly were not in the habit of building mounds.

The family reported
that Indians came around often in the early days. They would read
the sun like a clock and would disappear when the sun reached a
certain angle. Indian artifacts have been found in the area. Local
legends also give credence to the Indian mound theory. This area is
generally flat and there is no logical geological explanation for a
sand mound given the flatness of the surrounding area. Also
considering that there was at least evidence of forty human remains
removed from this site and that no archaeologist was called in to
evaluate the site so that there may have been other evidence that
was certainly overlooked. Also consider that at least two dump truck
loads of remains were trucked out of the site before it was
discovered that at least one of them contained human bones. The
family reported that other families sometimes brought relatives
there for burial. I talked with one of the older Weiers and was told
that their grand parents told them of a man who carried his dead
baby for several miles to have it buried there as it was the only
cemetery he knew about. Around this landmark early settlers from
several families buried their dead.

They probably did not
know or care if it was an Indian mound or not. Whether or not it was
will probably remain unknown as the evidence was destroyed and
removed. Early farmers often raided Indian mounds to get pots. There
was a road that led from Martin road directly to this cemetery. I
have it on an aerial foto and showing the mound in the 1960s. I
shall call it the Bunert-Indian Cemetery for shortness but it was
supposedly registered on the State of Michigan registry as the
Bidell-Green-Weier Cemetery. It is now located on the southern half
of the Briarwood school property. I saw a 8 mm movie in about 1970
showing three burial vaults in which bones were being piled to be
buried at Clinton Grove. I spoke with the undertaker who performed
the last removals. I found newspaper articles. And weirdly also
found reports of ghost sightings believe it or not.

By the 1960s it was
overgrown with Lilac shrubs that waved in the breeze. The Lilacs
were planted by other families to mark the burial places but had
become overgrown over the years. The family was forced by economic
reasons to sell the property. The school district would have taken
the property anyway as they wanted to build a school there. It was
transferred about 1966. Mrs. Ida Weier told the school district that
it was a burial ground and wanted all remains to be treated in a
Christian manner. Bunert family burials were removed and reinterred
at the Clinton Grove Cemetery in Mt Clemens. There were no other
stone markers and all of the wood markers had rotted away and the
little stone pebble markers were displaced so it was not
particularly recognizable as a burial ground. But she also warned
the principal that it was a burial ground. He called her a crazy
lady. During construction a skull and other human bones were
discovered. (Per Tri City Progress 4 14-1967)

In May of 1969
children playing in the school playground discovered more human
remains. Imagine the look of shock on the teachers face when they
brought the remains into the classroom. Later the principal went
over to Ida Weiers house and wanted to question her about the
remains. She reminded him that he had branded her a crazy lady for
even suggesting that it was a burial ground. One contractor dug a
load of dirt for fill dirt and dropped it off on someone’s
property. The homeowner receiving the fill dirt found sculls and
human bones and called the police who contacted the contractor.
Imagine asking for fill dirt and getting human remains dropped off
in your driveway. Wow was he in trouble.

It wasn’t very
long when that kids were also showing off human remains from the
mound. That finally got the officials attention. The school district
wanted everything hushed up so no archaeologists were called in and
in fact it was them who hired a funeral director. The school
certainly did not want anyone to discover that this was anything
other than a single family burial plot. But human remains of at
least 40 humans were removed from what was left of the mound and the
rest of the area was not explored. Historian Wesley Arnold states
that he saw movies of this mound being excavated. The funeral
director mentioned that Theuts, Greens, Hessels, and Schoenhers were
probably buried there. So it was for sure a pioneer cemetery.
Whether or not it was also the remains of an Indian burial ground
had not been determined by scientific investigation and will never
be never known as the evidence has been removed and scattered. And
even though a few bones were removed the balance of the remains of
those pioneer families remain underground. This historian does not
believe in ghosts but must report many of sightings over the years
by homeowners adjacent to the Briarwood School property. Several
families and even children have reported sightings and strange
happenings there. As a historian I am honor bound to tell the truth.

This historian feels
that a plaque should be erected at least on the on a bench on the
grass next to the paved path that goes around the ball field that
would and mark this as at least a pioneer cemetery. See historian
Wesley Arnold's CD of Warren-Center Line Records which has pictures
of all of the old grave stones in both Warren's Union Cemetery and
St Clement's Cemetery. These two cemeteries hold most of the remains
of the pioneers of Warren. The Warren Union Cemetery has 325 graves
that date from the 19th Century. St Clement's has over 1,500 burials
prior to1943

Cemeteries
Forgotten

Cemeteries were
started, used then sometimes forgotten. Even the soldiers who died
in the massacre of Bloody Ridge are now lost, unmarked and
forgotten. Many of the old cemeteries are unmarked and forgotten.
Even the old stones get weathered and become unreadable. Note Brick
sealer can stop that for a while. In the old days family members
were often buried within a few hundred feet of where they died
because they did not have a wagon or horse to carry the remains.
Burials were often on the family farm. In most of history coffins
were not even used. This was because the family or what was left of
it did not have the wood, tools, skill or strength to make one. With
epidemics often family members were laid side by side in common
graves. Often several family members died within a short time. What
was left of families simply piled stones on the grave site. Years
later under new owners the forgotten graves became again farmer’s
field. There were few if any gravestone makers available to
families. Many families were in shock and extremely poor. Many
people died of conditions we have cures for now. Many children and
women died as a result of childbirth. Many children died young.

There were burials on
farms and unknown locations prior to this time some without so much
as a casket and since tools were poor many were in very shallow
graves or mounds. The Warren Historical Society was just recently
informed about a grave next to a house on Chicago Road. Most burials
in the old days were made within a few hundred feet of where the
person dies because families did not have the resources to build
caskets or transport the remains and often there were no cemeteries
nearby.

Warren
Union Cemetery

The Warren Union
Cemetery was established in 1845 when pioneer farmer Peter Gillette
sold a parcel of land to eighteen families as a burial ground. The
Warren Union Cemetery Association was organized in 1852 to maintain
the 2 1/2 acre cemetery. This is the oldest cemetery in the city.
Wesley Arnold photographed all of the stones and the pictures are
included for you free on a CD. An index of this cemetery is on Mr
Arnold's CD which can be obtained from Friends of the Library.

St
Clement Pioneer Cemetery

The Center Line St
Clement parish cemetery was established about 1853. Many pioneers of
Warren are buried here. Wesley Arnold has pictures of all of the
pioneer’s grave stones available on his CD. He took pictures
of every visible stone. Some stones are buried below the grass. Many
of the old stones are weathered, crumbled and not visible anymore.
Many are probably now underground. Wesley Arnold photographed all of
them so that future generations will have access to the information
on them. He also scouted around and found a walk thru of the
cemetery done in the 1950’s. It is amazing how many stones
have disappeared. Those stone readings were indexed and typed by
Wesley Arnold and the walk thru information was added and that
information is on the CD.

What
are you doing in the cemetery with that shovel?

Wow did he get some
strange looks as he walked around the cemetery with a shovel and his
camera. He almost got locked in when Chief Norman Smith locked the
gate. He looked at Wes a little funny when Wes explained that he was
just digging up a little history. Actually Wes was one of Chief
Smith’s volunteer firemen and Norm is a great source of
knowledge about Center Line. He even told me how during some years
more people were removed from this cemetery than were buried.

Don't
walk on Graves

It seemed that back in
the old days you did not walk on graves. You had to stick to
the aisles. A good reason not to walk on graves was that your body
weight might cause your foot break the rotting cover of an old
casket and you literally could fall into a grave with your foot
going into the coffin and crushing the corpse. There might be a
horrendous smell also. Many burials were in winter and dug by hand
in frozen ground and sometimes weren’t always dug too deep.
Also there was no caretaker as the church was too poor to pay one so
families were responsible for maintaining the grave sites and the
aisle next to it. Some did not which led eventually to the cemetery
being greatly overrun with vines, weeds and underbrush so thick that
people could not easily visit their loved ones or properly conduct
burials. The pastor probably felt at that time that it was a huge
disgrace so he encouraged people to bury their loved ones elsewhere
such as at Mt Olivet (opened in 1888) down Van Dyke or, Mt. Elliott
(opened in 1841). These cemeteries were maintained properly. He also
encouraged people to have their loved ones removed and buried there.
So some years more people were removed from the cemetery than were
buried there that year. By the way cemetery caretakers were not
always careful about not bumping stones as they mowed. Sometimes
stones would fall down or get pushed into the low trough that was
made when an old wooden casket finally caved in. Note that
weathering on stones can be slowed down by cleaning them, coloring
in the letters then applying coatings of brick sealer. Wesley Arnold
has recorded all of the stones in six cemeteries so that the record
of the stones will be preserved even if it becomes unreadable.

Families
should look after the grave sites of their ancestors because it is
their responsibility, and they should record the record on the
stones. Some people have reported that visiting the family site
sometimes gives them a feeling of happiness and peace. People could
make it a short visit and also make it part of a family outing such
as visiting a cider mill and park. This could be a chance to tell
the children about the family history. Where were your great grand
parents during the civil war? Which side did they fight on? Where
did their parents come from?

Where are
your great great grand parents buried? Do they have markers?

Detroit Memorial Park
Cemetery was established in 1925.

Who
were streets named after.

Answer
almost always was a real person or pioneer family.

Cunningham
in Warren was first called Michigan Ave.

Engleman Street named
after the settler us Engleman a civil war veteran.

Dequindre ave was
named for Major Antoine Dequindre; land owner and veteran

War of 1812; 1850.
Also Dequindre Street - Named for the Dequindre family ribbon farm.

Gratiot Avenue - Began
as a Native American hunting/traveling path.

It's named after Gen.
Charles Gratiot, the engineer in charge of the project.

Hayes Avenue - Common
street name. Probably named for President Rutherford B. Hayes

.John R road was named
for large land owner and prominent citizen,

John R. Williams;
1835. He was a general in the Territorial Militia, a member of the
board of trustees at the 'new' University of Michigan and the first
elected Detroit mayor in 1824.

Mound Avenue/Road was
named for a large mound located in an area near the mound and seven
mile road. According to Judge and historian Don Mankowski no bones
were ever found there.

Peter Katz Street
named after the settler of the same name.

Van Dyke avenue was
named for prominent citizen and Mayor, James A. Van Dyke; 1885

Minke, Weingartz,
Heisenberg, Busch, Wieland, Katz, were all streets named after the
settlers of the same name. We are not sure of many others. The
developers may have used their relative’s names.

The streets named
after cars were names chosen by the developer of the land.

Arsenal was named for
the Tank arsenal.

Paul G Hazen Drive
named after soldier Paul Gordon Hazen who was the son of Adelbert G.
Hazen (Center Line Mayor). Paul was the first of our young people to
die in Viet Nam.

Who's
Who of Center Line and Warren

Who's Who of Center
Line and Warren is a long document under separate cover that lists
general information on persons who lived in our area. It is hoped
that this will help families in the future learn about their
relatives. This is based on historical research. Information on
living persons is very limited due to privacy concerns. This is a
work in progress and more persons will be added as families donate
information. If you want your self or ancestors listed please
contact Daniel@macombhistory.us

Wars

If you appreciate
your freedom and way of life thank a veteran. Families living in our
area had members like mine that had fought in the Revolutionary
war, the American Civil War, World Wars I and II, Korea, Vietnam and
other wars. Many of these veterans went thru terrible hells on Earth
of indescribable horrors. Many suffered severe pain and suffering
for the cause of freedom and to preserve and secure our way of life.
My dad was in the Normandy invasion and saw many die. I served in
the Vietnam era. Both St Clement Cemetery and Warren Union Cemetery
have our local veterans buried there. Center Line's Paul G Hazen
Drive was named for one of our native sons who was awarded the
Silver Star for its bravery in Viet Nam. Many others gave their
all also. Clem Grobbel fought in Russia. See the story on Mike
Grobbel’s wonderful website. 7,484 women served in South
Vietnam, Nearly 60,000 Americans died because of it. 2,650 died from
Michigan.

We
should honor our Veterans both living and dead

We should honor these
brave men and women as real life heroes. We must create a better
world for our children and for future generations. We must learn
from history. Perhaps we can put an end to needless violence,
suffering and dying by preventing wars from developing. After all
wars mostly start because a language nonunderstanding, disagreement
or from greed.

Us veterans had the
courage and guts to stand up and defend our freedom and way of life.
Many gave everything they had including their lives often after
great personal pain and suffering.

Are
people today willing to defend our country now?

Those who
aren't are not worthy of living here and should get the hell out!

Thousands or Americans
and additional thousands have died in the just last few years due to
Radical Islam. Americans need to get their head out of the land of
fantasy and into reality or else their children will die as slaves.
First it must be said that we are not against peaceful people but
are against those who support: killing, rape, the marriage of girls
under age 17 without their or their mother's consent, the denial to
women the same human rights as men, the denial of freedom of speech,
of the press and of religion. Perhaps the worst is yet to come as
there are thousands of Muslim terrorists in training right here in
the USA and hundreds in Michigan. Muslim terrorists think they earn
a ticket to paradise by killing innocent women and children. They
are here among us so we all must be strong and ready to defend our
way of life as they are planning to create an islamic state here and
dump our US Constitution. They are having babies in large numbers,
are recruiting members from prisons and bringing everyone they can
from around the world. The burden of maintaining the peace and
freedom will soon borne by all not by just a few groups of National
Guard Troops forced to repeatedly go into combat. Many of us
veterans are fed up those who dodge their responsibility and many of
our youth are becoming a nation of uncaring who are unwilling, and
unable to even defend their community in times of need. Also we have
about 60 million foreign born aliens among us many with little to no
allegiance to America. Will they help defend us if needed?

History
of Wars in which our men died

For Thousands of years
mankind has lived here. Although their main occupation was survival
in the wilderness their secondary occupation seems to have been
warfare against other tribes. They often did not speak each others
language and so could not negotiate a truce or talk their way out of
danger. Because of not understanding each other the spear or knife
are used rather than words. There were thousands of killings and
butcherings. They showed no mercy. They killed and tortured and took
slaves. There was no rule of law rather just the rule of brute
force. There were times of peace but they could never be sure when
or where another tribe would attack. Would you want to live during
that time? Can violence happen today? Yes it is happening today
around the world. Thousands lose their lives every year. And history
teaches us that unless we are prepared and can defend ourselves it
can happen here. Over 3000 Americans have been killed by Muslim
terrorists right here in the USA. And there are hundreds in
Michigan.

1600-1818

With the arrival of
Europeans in the 1600s a lot of things changed but not the fact of
wars. Soon the Indians had knives, tomahawks, swords and guns. Both
the French and English bought scalps and gave the Indians scalping
knives and firewater (whiskey) They told them that the other
Europeans, Indians and settlers were against them and wanted their
land. They gave the Indians license to kill and steal the settler’s
belongings including pots, guns, valuables, crops and livestock.
There was an increase in tribal warfare and killing of settlers from
1600 to 1800 in Michigan. Michigan was a dangerous place for a
settler until after 1818. Thousands of Settlers and Indians were
needlessly killed. Both were nearly annihilated from SE Michigan.

US American
Revolutionary War 1775-1783 221,000 mobilized, 36,000 died
in action or from wounds, illnesses or accidents. over 12,000
wounded, 16,000 POWs.

US Civil War
1861-1865 Total Mobilized 2,456,000. Dead 360,022 North, 258,000
South. Wounded 455,175. POWs 426,000 Michigan contributed over
ninety thousand men to the Union forces. This was about 23 percent
of the male population. Of course some were too young or old. Over
one half of the military age population served in the Union army.
Also serving were 1,661 blacks many of which served in the first
Michigan colored Infantry. Later this was known as the 102nd
Regiment. These troops were subjected to ridicule by lot of
residents. False negative stories were circulated about these
honorable men. These men served honorably and helped win the war.
Anyone who ridicules solders unfairly such as this should be sent
with them into battle. 200 of Michigan's American Indians also
served honorably as did many immigrants who were not citizens yet.
Anyone who puts down our soldiers is not fit to live in our free
country. This created a labor shortage at home. The most famous
Michigan soldier was George Armstrong Custer of Monroe. He commanded
the Michigan Calvary Brigade.

The Civil War and most
of those deaths could have been avoided had intelligent reasoning
prevailed. Even the Detroit Free Press called for a negotiated
settlement.

In 1861 Virginia tried
to organize a peace conference to avoid war by finding non violent
solutions to the nation's problems.. The just sworn in governor of
Michigan and the Michigan legislature emphatically rejected the
invitation to attend the conference. “Senator Chandler
Michigan's most virulent Republican legislator, concurred with this
action and wrote Blair that a civil war was desirable because the
blood of patriots and tyrants was the “natural manure”
of the Tree of Liberty and that “without a little
bloodletting” the Union would not be “worth a rush.”
(Lawrence E. Ziewacz 107) I wonder if this senator who was so in
favor of war went into battle or just send the young men of Michigan
to become manure. 15,000 Michigan soldiers gave their lives to
preserve our country.

Women prepared
bandages and clothing for soldiers. Newspapers were avidly read
daily. Labor saving machinery was greatly needed and used but often
hard to find. Women often worked in the fields. The war actually
brought prosperity to Michigan farmers. To solve the labor problem
immigrants were brought in. Farmers produced bigger crops of wheat,
corn, oats, rye, hops, and corn sorghum.

Heronoius Engleman for
whom Engleman street was named was a civil war veteran. Others are
buried in St Clemens Pioneer Cemetery and Warren Union Cemetery.
Those in The Bidel Cemetery are lost forever. Michigan troops fought
in all major engagements in the Civil War. Fourteen thousand died
from wounds and sickness. (Kern 34) At home men, women and children
worked long hours while their sons, husbands and fathers fought and
died. “Between 1860 and 1870, rural population and acreage of
improved farm land increased by about 45 percent-- thanks in part to
passage of the Homestead Ace in 1862.” (Kern 35) Wool
production increased. Production of wheat which was Michigan's
largest cash crop almost doubled. (Kern 35) Beginning around the
time of the Civil War and continuing forward to the present labor
saving machinery and later office automation improved productivity.
At first it was horse drawn machinery, then steam powered then
gasoline and diesel powered machinery. That was followed by electric
and electronic machinery.

Governor Austin Blair
declared in January of 1861 South Carolina’s secession from
the union. On the evening of April 12, 1861, the manager of the
Detroit Theatre rushed on stage and announced that Fort Sumter, in
the harbor of Charleston, South Carolina, had been bombarded by
Southern forces. A momentary silence hung over the theater, then the
orchestra struck up “Yankee Doodle” and the audience
rose as one and gave cheers for the Union.”*

When President Abraham
Lincoln called for 1000 troops Michigan responded with 750,000. The
first troops to leave the state were the First Michigan Infantry,
which arrived in Washington, DC, on May 16, 1861. According to
tradition, President Lincoln greeted the regiment, the first to
arrive from a western state, with “Thank God for Michigan.”
Eventually, ninety thousand Michigan men—and a few women saw
service in the Union Army during the war. Michigan’s total
included about 1,500 African Americans who served with the First
Michigan Colored Infantry, later the 102nd U.S.

Colored Infantry. From
the war’s first big battle, where Michiganians covered the
retreat of a defeated Union Army , to the capture of Confederate
president Jefferson Davis four years later, Michigan's boys in blue
saw action in all the war’s major battles. Seventy
Michiganians were awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s
highest honor for meritorious service. By 1865 the Civil War was
over but not without sorrow for those who died for their beliefs.
The Battle of Gettysburg, for example resulted over 51,000 soldiers
killed, wounded, captured or missing. Many laid there for days dying
with no pain killers and no help. Several Center Line and Warren
residents served the cause of freedom.

To find out more about
Michigan in the Civil war visit Don Harvey's website which plays
historical music while you learn.
http://www.michiganinthewar.org/cwmireg.htm

History of the 4th
Michigan Infantry Regiment "Grand Army of the Potomac"
1861-1864

The 4th Michigan
Infantry was one of the must feared and respected Union regiments
who fought in the Civil War. They served in the Grand Army of the
Potomac from 1861 to 1864. The 4th Mustered into service on June 20,
1861 at Adrian, Michigan. They mustered out of service on June 29,
1864 at Detroit, Michigan.

Slavery was
practiced in times past mostly by the Indians between tribes.
Occasionally American settlers if they were lucky were made slaves
as opposed to being scalped. 10,000 Americans were made slaves of
the British which was one of the major causes of the war of
1812-1815. Sadly slavery is a repeating fact of history, occurring
in most times and as much as we all abhor it, and it doesn’t
appear to be going totally away. It is here in Warren at present
mostly amongst aliens.

1914-1918 Over 65
million people mobilized, 8 million people killed, 21 million
wounded, 7,750,919 POWs. From Military and Civilian War Related
Deaths Through the Ages. “Between April 1917 and November
November 1918 135,000 Michigan men served in the Armed Forces; 5,000
died...and 15,000 were wounded. (Kern 48) Sacrifices were made at
home. “One unforeseen consequence of World War I was that
while it halted European immigration, the industrial demands for
labor began to attract migrants from the American South. (Kern 49)
”though no more than 60,000 Afro-Americans were in Michigan in
1920, this number was over three times the total in 1910. By 1930
the number had risen to 120,000. (Kern 50)

World
War II "The War to End all Wars"

1937-1946 Mobilized
178,048,566. Killed 404,997 USA, Deaths over 16,000,000 combat,
Civilian deaths 6,300,000. POW deaths 1,500,000. From Military
and Civilian War Related Deaths Through the Ages. 613,542 men and
women from Michigan were to serve and 15,000 were to die in World
War II. (John Kern 57) The Detroit Arsenal in Warren built 36,000
tanks. Hydromatic built ship guns. Other industries also built
items. Michigan citizens sacrificed, worked hard, drove their cars
slow to save on gas, rationed items, collected paper, metal and
milkweed pods (for life jacket stuffing) bought war bonds and
cultivated Victory Gardens. (Kern 58) Michigan had led all other
states in production of military equipment. But savages in Detroit
killed 34 people, looted and burned stores, burned businesses,
burned entire neighborhoods and shot at fireman who were trying to
put out fires. And they did the same thing in 1967 with a needless
loss of 43 lives,. I know I was on the fire department. Firemen are
risking their lives to save children in a house fire and put the
fire out and savages were shooting at us. Absolutely inexcusable and
intolerable. Anyone guilty of attacking a fireman should be deported
to Pagan Island in the Pacific because these savages don't deserve
to remain in our free country.

I keep hearing that
Warren hosted German and Italian prisoners of war from old timers
but I have not substantiated this. It appears that some German
prisoners of war did work in the Warren area. The closest camps were
in Romulus, Grosse Ile, and Blissfield. During the war with so many
men going overseas there were labor shortages at home. It appears
that many of these prisoners were glad to be alive and glad to work
here.

The Germans invaded
many other countries killing thousands. Then they attacked England
and Russia. They had plans to take over the United States. The
Germans starved and butchered several million innocent nonviolent
people including women and children and cremated them in ovens.
I personally visited Dachau and saw documentary film of the bodies
including women and children stacked up like firewood to be put into
the ovens. Our troops liberated the concentration camps where people
who had nearly been starved to death were made to slave and work for
the Germans.

The Japanese
attacked other countries cruelly killing and brutalizing the
populations then they attacked our fleet in Pearl Harbor. The
Germans and especially the Japanese tortured, raped, starved to
death and even killed people by slow starvation or mutilation. Look
at the history of what the Japanese did to the Americans Chinese and
Philippines during World War II.

The
Japanese excelled in thousands of unspeakable atrocities to innocent
persons including women and children.

Singapore
has fallen, and Britain has been humiliated. Victorious Japanese
troops scream "Banzai!" These twentieth century barbarians
slaughtered, raped, and looted their way across East Asia and the
western half of the Pacific Ocean between 1937 and 1945. Including
victims killed in China, historians estimate that the Japanese
brutally murdered at least five million captive civilians and
prisoners of war.

Historians outside
Japan estimate that at least five million captive foreign civilians
and prisoners of war were brutally murdered by the Japanese military
between 1937 and 1945. To that figure, can be added hundreds of
thousands of victims who were slowly murdered by starvation,
disease, and beatings in Japanese prisoner of war and internment
camps, and hundreds of thousands of women who were brutally raped by
Japanese soldiers. The appalling rape figure includes two hundred
thousand women in Japanese-occupied countries who were forced into
sexual slavery in Japanese Imperial Army brothels. Finally, we
cannot forget the terrible fate of hundreds of prisoners of war who
were murdered by the Japanese Army's infamous Unit 731 in the course
of horrible biological experiments.

The use of the word
"murder" instead of "execution"

The Japanese
excelled in thousands of unspeakable atrocities to innocent persons
including women and children. They would beat people daily and
torture them.A good source of information is the documentary
movie by Ken Burns called The War available at video rentals or
PBS. I have talked to many survivors of the Holocaust. Now around
the world new atrocities are happening and propaganda is being
circulated that the holocaust did not happen. Ask the young Japanese
or Germans what their country did in World War II and you will
usually find they don't know enough about their country's terrible
atrocities to fill a thimble. And these types of atrocities are
still being allowed and practiced today around the world. Why
did the Japanese and Germans do such terrible things to other humans
who did nothing bad to them?

The Japs
favorite sport was cutting a persons abdomen open so the intestines
would fall out then allow them to die painfully over several days.

Another
favorite Jap sport was using helpless innocent persons for bayonet
practice stabbing them and torturing them.

The Japs
performed brutal, painful, often repeated, torture on our American
Prisoners of war. They slowly cut off body parts and let him slowly
die.

And one
more favorite Jap sport was seeing how much work they could get out
of people by not giving them food. Millions were slowly killed or
starved to death.

Chicago
Daily News's quiet-spoken Far Eastern Correspondent Archibald T.
Steele wrote the following story July 21 1941 after interviewing the
person.

First I was beaten
repeatedly about the head and this was followed by 50 lashes with a
whip. . . . Then I was flattened on my back, my head was jerked back
and water was poured into my nostrils. . . . Next they strapped me
into the 'tiger's chair'—an ordinary chair anchored to the
floor. Bricks were placed under my feet and piled up one by one. As
each brick stretched my taut leg muscles farther, the agony became
unbearable. I fainted seven times within 40 minutes. . . . They gave
me what they called the 'electric punishment.' I was forced to grasp
two electrically charged tubes and the voltage was gradually stepped
up. Every inch of my body trembled like jelly. I felt as though I
were going to burst." But Liu did not talk; months later the
Japanese released him, still under suspicion, let him join the
Puppet Government at Nanking. Traveling one day from Shanghai to
Nanking by train, Liu outwitted shadowing spies, slipped off at a
way station. By devious route he then made his way to Chungking,
told his story to Steele.

I am
waiting for someone to tell me the word Jap does not show respect.
Try saying that to my face. The Japanese have never apologized or
even told their children or grand children what they did. The Japs
have won the war. There is now no doubt.

The World Almanac
states that the Total deaths related to the war were over 45
MILLION

The
government of Germany KILLED 14 million of its own people.

German bombs killed
70,000 British Civilians. 100,000 Chinese civilians were killed by
the Japanese just to capture the city of Nanking. Japan attacked
other countries and took over Indochina. Japan attacked the United
States at Hawaii. After lousing thousands of our soldiers and facing
losing thousands more the United states leaders decided to bring the
war to a halt by bombing just two Japanese cities with just two
bombs. (World Almanac) That worked and stopped the Japanese
invaders.

Many
of our Veterans bravely suffered thru this war.

Korean War
Mobilized 5,720,000. Killed 54,246.USA 135,000 also killed in China.
Wounded 103,240. POW deaths 8,000 From Military and Civilian War
Related Deaths Through the Ages

Vietnam
Era Needless Deaths and Suffering?

1964-1973
Almost 9 million service personnel were mobilized, at least 58,253
were killed some may still die of their wounds yet. 53,303 were
physically wounded. Thousands were mentally wounded. There are 591
American POWs.. From Military and Civilian War Related Deaths
Through the Ages

Nearly 600,000
other people died. I served during this time. If you didn't
volunteer there was a good change you would be drafted. When I got
home I was insulted and made fun of. Many vets had their lives
wrecked. Many of us still have nightmares and flashbacks. Can you
imagine what is it like having to pick up your best friends body
parts and put them into a body bag? Many have cancer and other
problems related to this needless war. Did my brothers die for
freedom? Were we sent to die so private companies made a profit.
Rich kids often got out of serving. Later those of us who made it
home had to suffer insults and being spit on by lowlifes who were
too cowardly to serve their country. It is a good thing I never
caught one desecrating our flag. He would have had a hell of a
beating.

A common opinion of
veterans from this time is that the generals were not allowed to win
the war. They played games and let us die for nothing.

Is there a parallel
today with Helliburton making millions in profit from war?
Helliburton is the Vice Presidents company which he was CEO of and
from which he still gets hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits
from. Why is Helliburton allowed to get no bid contracts in Iraq and
to charge the US very high prices. Why has it been allowed to move
its headquarters to Dubai? To avoid US taxes and US regulation? If
the President, Vice President and members of congress are so
dedicated why is it that neither they or their kids are serving in
Iraq? Some of us veterans think that George Bush when he is no
longer president should finish his national guard duty in Iraq since
he skipped out if it when he was younger. One historical observation
is that how different things would be if the leaders, who have had
many good years of life, had to do the fighting rather than to send
off thousands of young people who have not had a chance to live yet.
Are they fit to lead who like cowards skipped out of military duty
when they were young? If one has to serve than it is only fair
that all serve and not get special treatment because they are rich.Those who refuse to defend our country don't deserve to reap its
benefits.

There are
many reasons I said the above and they are listed below. I served my
country with honor and lived, below are my brothers who gave all
they had.

The
following information was researched by Mike Grobbel. I quote Mike
Grobbel

"Paul
Gordon Hazen was the son of Adelbert G. Hazen (Center Line
Mayor, 1954-1960) and his wife, the former Leona Borsekowski. Paul
was born on Sept. 7, 1944 and in 1965 he was drafted into the U.S.
Army . On Dec. 4, 1965, SP4 Paul Hazen began a tour of duty in South
Vietnam that ended on Sept. 23, 1966 when he died of multiple
fragmentation wounds suffered during hostile action. He was the
first Center Line soldier to die in the Vietnam war." According
to the National Archives Casualty list found by Mike Grobbel the
following soldiers died as a result of the Vietnam War.

Many of
us veterans feel that neither was worth even one American life. The
best action in the opinion of most is to get out. OVER 5,000 OF OUR
BROTHERS DEAD FOR WHAT? Another Vietnam. 60,000 dead for what? We
were sucked in to guerrilla warfare again when there were better
ways to fight.

What
can be learned from wars and history?

An important lesson of
history is that if a people do not keep alert, informed and prepared
they can become the slaves or victims of others who might conquer
them. Thousands of men and women have gone to war to defend our
freedom. Many fought and died. America was stronger and freedom was
brighter because of them. It is a disgrace that about one half of
our 18 year olds don't even know what the major law of our land is
and why it was created or who the enemy was in WWII. Most of them
can't find the USA on a blank map. Our constitution and bill of
rights are very important. They should be educated about the
constitution and bill of rights.

For
thousands of years the chief causes of death for Warren area
residents was:

Attacks from other
humans, Freezing, Starvation, Injuries with inadequate medical care,
wild animal attacks. After the arrival of Europeans the main causes
of death changed somewhat.

Diseases were added to
the above list. Many children and adults died of diseases we now
have cures for such as measles, smallpox, tuberculosis, Cholera,
Influenza, TB, Diphtheria, Malaria, etc.

Even though we now
have the best medical care in history there are troubles on the
horizon. Bacteria have a very short life span and multiply billions
of generations during a human life span. This means that they adapt
to environmental changes more quickly than humans. We have been
foolishly feeding antibiotics to farm animals such as cows for
years. Bacteria are becoming resistant to our antibiotics. New germs
are appearing that are resistant to nearly every antibiotic we have
now. Also of importance is that humans are not doing adequate
research on creating new antibiotics and into preventing diseases.
Several new super bugs are now appearing and threaten the world.. We
have no way of stopping them. To make it worse terrorists are
beginning to find ways to capture grow and transport these super
germs. It is only a matter of time until they are released on our
area. But now not enough research is being done on drug resistant
bacteria that will soon threaten us all.

Warren Area residents
are dying now because national politicians favored special interest
groups rather than citizens lives to allow pollution of the Great
Lakes and of our Air and our soil. Now many people are dying from
air pollution causes. No I am not exaggerating this. Our Air, water
and land were pure prior to 1830. The politicians allowed big
companies to dump mercury into the Great Lakes. They knew then that
is was poisonous. Now we can't eat fish from our own Great lakes.
Our air is polluted. Hundreds of people are dying from cancer,
emphysema and other pollution related diseases. If you doubt any
word written here just do a little research and you will discover
that I have written the terrible historic truth.

Roads

The rivers were the
roads to the early pioneers. There were Indian trails wide enough
for one person to travel on dry days. As trails were more traveled
they got wider and in the spring and fall or after a rain they
became seas of mud that sometimes neither man or beast could travel
on. As mentioned above the Christian Moravian Indians made the first
road in Michigan. The only group available to build roads was the
Army. In 1816 the Detroit garrison began building a road to Ohio. By
1819 it was cut through. But it was so poorly constructed that major
improvements in it had to be made on it in following years. Part of
this was the part across the Black Swamp. Until this was done wagons
could not travel to or from Michigan.

A road N W to Pontiac
was begun in 1816.

A post-road from
Pontiac Saginaw and Mr Clemens was laid out in 1823. By 1835 it only
Pontiac to Flint had been completed. Swamps were the biggest
problem. (Willis F Dunbar 247)

A road to Chicago was
started in 1825. By 1835 two stagecoaches a week were operating
between Detroit and Fort Dearborn (Chicago) This was known as the
Chicago Military Road. (Willis F Dunbar 247) These so called roads
were little more than pathways cut thru the woods with logs laid
crosswise across swampy parts and very crude bridges made across
streams if whey were too deep to be forded. Settlers often made
money pulling wagons out of mud holes. Dunbar states that it was
said that some mud holes were man made in order to make profit from
pulling wagons out of them. (Willis F Dunbar 248)

In 1827 a road was
approved to Saginaw, and another to Ft. Gratiot in Port Huron. Why
did the road have to be approved? To build a road thru the forest
trees had to be cut down, stumps removed, a road bed leveled and the
road paved with planks. Everything had to be done by hand in those
days as there was no power equipment. It cost around $1000 per mile
back then to pave a road. The only one with enough money to do this
was the state and federal governments.

At spots on these
roads were found not by accident taverns and hotels. The Warren
hotel, Millers tavern, perhaps Kunrod's were perhaps some of our
local ones.

The Michigan territory
population had increased to 212,000 from settlers thanks to the Erie
Canal. “Nowhere in the West did Yankee stock predominate to
the degree that it did in Michigan.” Many settlers came from
New England. (Willis F Dunbar 255) Many came from Ohio and Indiana
and later many came from Germany and other parts of Europe.

Construction on
Gratiot was completed in 1831

The main road from
1820-1880 was the State Road. Again quoting Gerald Neil “it
ran as follows: Northeast from Detroit on Connors, across Eight Mile
Road almost at the Van Dyke intersection. Continuing on northwest to
Sherwood, (a small section of Connors road still remains here) then
north on Sherwood to Eleven Mile. Here it angled northwesterly to
join up with Mound Road and continue on north through into Sterling
Township.” Part of the road in Detroit, between Van Dyke at
Grinnel and winding down to Harper, now known as St Cyril bore the
name Center Line Road until sometime around 1945. The Statnd winding
de Road was full of ruts and either dusty or a sea of mud until it
was planked in 1856. Quite a few years later it was also condemned
after the planks rotted. It was then paved with gravel.

Van Dyke (then called
the territorial road and known as the Center Line road) was soon
built. A base line had been set up across the state and the various
future main roads drawn on maps. Van Dyke was a fairly straight dirt
road by 1840. The name Van Dyke was from the family that had a big
farm on Van Dyke further to the South and a member of that family
James A Van Dyke had been elected mayor of Detroit. It was named
that about 1885. Even later it was named the Earl memorial highway.

Sherwood Road was
planked in 1856. This also became known as the State Road sometimes
called the Center Line road which ran from Detroit North from Connor
Creek past Harper and north along what is now called Sherwood to the
Village of Warren. A settlement of Hickory Corners once exited at
Connor Road, which followed Connor Creek to Jefferson.

The roads in the area
were more like dirt trails than roads. In the spring and early
winter they were seas of mud.

Van Dyke was first a
dirt trail, than a dirt road then planked, then redone with gravel,
then in the early 1920’s had two concrete slabs 18 feet apart.
About 1927 the citizens were petitioning the government to have the
gravel center 18 foot section paved.

Local
roads

Gerald Neil who had
access to the Warren Township records which have not been lost
stated “Roads were then, as they are now, a major concern of
the local residents. Six or seven roads were laid jout the first two
years leading to or from our major highway, the 'State Road.'”
“Roads, of course, were always the major concern of both the
officials and land-holders. They were important not only for traffic
movement, but for trucking of produce to market places, and for
supplies coming in. Then, as now, there never seemed to be enough
money or manpower to provide 'decent roads'”. (Gerald Neil 7)

Van Dyke was a fairly
straight dirt road by 1840.

The center of Warren
Township was at eleven Mile Road and Van Dyke ) the Center Line
Road. On the South East Corner there was built the Old Township
hall.

Although Gratiot was
the first paved cement road other areas caught up within a few
years. By 1950 practically every road in the city was paved with
cement.

Roads were improved
over time. While Warren Born Michigan governor was in office over
6,500 miles of state roads had been improved and over 2,000 miles of
concrete highway had been laid. (Lawrence E. Ziewacz 230)

Commercial logging
began in the 1840s, and from the Civil War until the early twentieth
century.

In 1843 Frederika
Minda built a log cabin on Nine Mile Road near Ryan. In the 1970’s
it was moved across from the Bunert farm and later to the historic
park along the Red Run Creek just east of Mound. A few years later
vagrants or vandals set it on fire. The same fate happened to the
old train station at Chicago Road and the NYC railroad tracks.

Pioneer
Clothing

The pioneers soon
found that deerskin provided good clothing if it was correctly made.
It had to be properly tanned and then worked until it was soft. It
proved to be more rugged for pioneer work than cheap store clothing.
Pioneers often wore tough deerskin breeches and skirts that had been
worked by hand and sewed with sinews. Coonskin caps were common.
Deer skin moccasins were not as good as work boots but could at
least be made at home. Deerskin provided clothing that “could
withstand the wear and tear of briars, and brush, repel cold winds,
and ward off snake bite. (Willis F Dunbar 259) I will add an
important point that deerskin was impossible for mosquitoes to bite
thru. Later as sheep were brought in wool garments proved very
sturdy. Flax was also grown and could be made into strong clothing.
The problem with flax was it took a lot of hand labor to create
workable fibers. Whereas with sheep one only needed to shear them.
Many Warren farmers raised some sheep. In the long winters the
spinning wheel and hand loom were much used (Willis F Dunbar 259)

Many of the common
things we use were not even invented until recently and then it
often took many years more before they were available to the average
person.

Clothing in general
for men consisted of shirt, pants, waist coat, shoes and long
stockings. Women wore a long undershirt called a chemise covered by
a waistcoat and long skirt. A work apron and bonnet completed the
wardrobe. Boys and girls both wore dresses until older. By the way
underwear was usually not owned or worn until about the middle
1800’s. It was not uncommon for babies and children to be
wearing only their birthday suit. Herbs were rubbed on for mosquito
repellent. Children and men often swam in the nude. Babies were
sometimes nursed in tandem and on demand. More clothing was of
course worn in the winter time. Most people had two changes of
clothing. One for every day work and the other for Sunday and dress
up wearing. The clothing was not usually fancy just functional.
Fancy dress clothing appeared later in Center Line and Warren than
back east. The population was anything but rich and could not afford
fancy clothing. They were farming people tied to the running of the
farm and with no place to go even if they had fancy clothes. But
they did have their shindigs. They had plowing bees, quilting bees,
picnics, “singins,” in addition to the Sunday church
services.

The
Blacksmith

In the absence of
stores and money to early pioneers and farmers the blacksmith was a
lifesaver. He would heat up iron and make needed tools of every
kind. He made horse shoes, nails, knives, racks, rings, axles,
traps, hoes, augers, bells, shears, bullet molds, locks, adzes,
plows lamps and anything else needed from metal.

The
sawmill

This was usually the
first business set up in a community. And in the early days it was
tha main business other than farming. Log cabins took 60 to 80 trees
to make and took much heavy labor. But a house could be made of cut
wood with much less labor and using much less wood.

Tanners

In the early days
tanners were invaluable. They had the skill to create leather
articles and clothing needed by the farmers.

Brewer

All there was to drink
in the old days was water. One could make tea from wild plants.
Occasionally liquor was brought in. But many Old farmers liked beer
and it is no surprise that a brewery was one of the early businesses
in Warren.

Wagon
maker

Another early business
was the wagon maker. He had the tools and skill to make much needed
wagons and carriages. Warren had Mr Lutz and also a carriage shop.

Physician

The first so called
doctors had less medical knowledge than a high school graduate
today. They often had just bought a large book which had a Diploma
in the back and filled it out themselves. Some had actually taken a
class or two. Later on some actually attended medical schools. Since
people did not have money the so called doctors accepted payment in
other goods like chickens or other food.

Mills

Farmers needed their
grain ground, It could be done by hand was labor intensive and time
consuming. So mills sprung up. Wilcott mill is still in working
order and can be viewed. In northern Macomb County.

Storekeeper

The storekeeper sold
goods to the local residents that they could not grow or make
themselves. Back in the 1840s-1900s they sold clothing, sugar, salt,
coffee, thread, needles, shoes, boots, tools, harnesses, books,
buttons etc. See the foto pages on country store. We had lots of
them in Warren. Frank Peck. In Warren. Kunrod and Joseph Buchel.in
Center Line

Daltons Corners was
the site of the Dalton family farm at Eight Mile and Van Dyke
according to Gerald L Neil in his History of Warren Michigan 1837
-1976.

Until the 1820's the
area of Warren was covered with mature forest. Then the land was
gradually cleared for farming. Often crops were planted between the
tree stumps. It took many years to get rid of the stumps and surface
roots. Another reason that the land was cleared was that one of the
conditions to keep a government land grant was that several acres of
land had to be cleared. The area consisted by 1850 of many rough
farms and "damp" areas.

The Weier Family
Centennial Farm was built in 1856. This was the last working farm in
Warren. There was an Indian mound just to the West of that farm.
Some of the last Indians in Warren may have lived near there.

The John Teisen
Homestead was built in 1857, is the oldest documented still existing
residence in Warren. The land was originally owned by William
Cummins in the 1830's. It is located as 12240 10 Mile Road. He
certainly has one of the oldest stones in Center Line St Clement
Cemetery. See the picture of it in the St Clement folder.

By 1865 the Civil War
was over but not without sorrow for those who died for their
beliefs. The Battle of Gettysburg, for example resulted over 51,000
soldiers killed, wounded, captured or missing. Many laid there for
days dying with no pain killers and no help. See the Civil War file.
Several Center Line and Warren residents served the cause of
freedom.

In 1889 The Gurton
Hoard built a home which still exists as the Lyle Elliott Funeral
Home located at 31730 Mound. This building was a days buggy ride
from Utica to Detroit and was used as a hotel and later as a
residence, boarding house, doctors office and apartments.

Population

In 1850 the population
of Warren Township was 700-750. There was even quicker growth as
population figures show. 997 in 1854, 1335 in 1860, 1468 in 1864,
1938 in 1870, 2214 in 1874, 2401 in 1880, 2384 in 1884, 2423 in
1890, 2592 in 1894.

A settlement of
Hickory Corners once exited at Connor Road, which followed Connor
Creek to Jefferson.

The Schwartz House was
built circa 1858.

The Buhrns/Qualman
House was built in 1861 located at 5297 10 Mile Road. This was built
by Joachim Behrns who farmed the land until his death in 1888. In
1902 Charles Quitman bought the land. His son farmed the tract until
1928. William was elected Warren Township treasurer and served on
the Center Line Board of Education.

In 1865 Guy and Glenda
Dunbar built a log cabin at Ten Mile Road and Groesbeck.

In 1865 The Jones
family built a house on the Creek Road (Chicago Road). In 1889 Dr.
Flynn bought this house and the family has lived here until 1951. He
was born in New York, came to Warren in 1880 and was the only doctor
here for many years. Dr Flynn and his wife Annie E. Flynn were
influential in establishing the Murthumn High School in 1926. She
assisted her husband as a nurse and served on the Women's War board
and as treasurer of the School District No 3. The Flynn Junior High
School was dedicated in her name in 1973. In fact in the 1860 census
of the residents that were born elsewhere the largest number claimed
New York as their native state. More that one-quarter of the people
in Michigan in 1860 were born in New York. One quarter were from
Michigan and almost 5% from Ohio. Warren was probably about the
same. In later years more immigrants came from foreign lands.

The Engleman/Spieler
House was built in 1871.

Center Line had a few
saloons and they had spittoons

The main occupation in
Center Line was farming and raising livestock.

Charles and Anna
Jacob's 1875 farmhouse was located at Mound and Eleven Mile Road.

The Warren Co-op was
originally built as a train station in 1874 and used in the 1890's
as a farmer's mill and was torn down in 1995. It was located at
Chicago Road and the NYC Railroad. The Co-op itself started in the
1920’s.

Schools

Schools were nonexistent for most of the history of our area. People could
not read or write. Children had to work to survive. They learned
survival skills from their parents.

After 1818 some home
schools were formed and children taught in local cabins. Some
families allowed visiting teachers to sleep in and gave them food in
exchange for work and “schooling” their children.

The pioneers were
first too busy with just surviving. But as farms developed and farm
families were able to support their families they felt the need for
basic education. Most residents at that time were not able to read
or write. Sometimes they would have others come to their homes to
teach their children. Some of the local churches may have been
involved with some basic education.

In 1827 the
Territorial Council enacted a measure to enable townships to
maintain schools. Townships containing at least fifty families were
to employ a schoolmaster of good morals to teach the children to
read and write, instruct them in English and French languages, and
teach arithmetic, orthography, and good behavior. Schools were to
operate at least six months a year, taxes might be levied for their
support, and the poor were to be instructed without cost. In
townships having at least two hundred families, a “grammar
school” was to be maintained and a master employed who could
teach Latin. A board of not more than five commissioners was to have
charge of schools in each township. In 1829 a law was passed that
provided that the costs of maintaining schools was to be borne by
those whose children were taught, but poor children were to be
taught at the expense of the district. Back in those days these were
all elementary schools. For any education beyond this one had to go
to a private academy. (Willis F Dunbar 283)

Subjects in pioneer
schools were reading, spelling, writing, arithmetic, grammar and
geography. Some schools did not have black boards or chalk.
Sometimes paper was not to be had. Lincoln had to resort to doing
math on a wood board then he shaved the writing off. Some schools on
wood. or doing school writing in damp sand filled trays. (Lawrence
E. Ziewacz 164) A schoolmaster was supposed to be able to make quill
pens and be able to defeat the largest boy in the class in a fist
fight.. And maintain discipline. The birch rod was an indispensable
part of his equipment and any pupil who misbehaved would feel its
sting. Women were sometimes used in the summer term when there were
mostly girls in the classes. But women school teachers had to be
courageous to teach. (Willis F Dunbar 284) Women were also used
because they would work for less money.

The first known
school was s split log school house the farmers built at the
corner of Creek Road (Chicago Road) and Ryan roads. This school
house was also used for a church for both the Methodist and Baptist
groups. This log building also had split log benches. Usually there
were in these log schools boards laid across pegs driven into the
walls and used for desks. Rather uncomfortable to say the least.
Early log schools usually had just a fireplace rather than a stove
so it was hot by the fire and cold away from it. Teachers were often
paid a sum per each pupil taught. There were often few if any good
books.

There was also an East
School built before 1875 on Chicago Road between Van Dyke and Mound.

West
school was built in 1894 to the south on Ryan Road. That burned down
in 1931.A newer better red brick building was built to the south on
Ryan Road and is still standing.

The North
school built in 1859 was also called the Berz school. It was located
on the West side of Mound just South of 15 Mile Road. It became part
of the Warren Consolidated School District in 1941, It was sold in
August of 1952.

The South
school was built in 1866. It was located on the East side of
Mound Road between 13 Mile Road and 12 Mile Road. It was also called
the Halmich School. In November of 1945 it was sold to General
Motors and is now part of the GM Tech Center.

There
was also an East School built before 1875 on North side of Chicago
Road between Van Dyke and Mound. It was about 500 feet west of
Van Dyke. It was sold in August 1951 to Seventh Day Adventst
Church. From 1963 to 1968 with new owners it was extensively
remodeled. It now exists as part of Teddys Tavern.

The Plunket school was
a one room school located at State Road and 10 mile Road.

Several local churches
ran schools. See the story of St Clement.

Murthumn High School
was built in 1926. The Flynn Junior High School was dedicated 1973.

Bunert
One Room School

The Bunert One Room
School was built in 1875 and located on the northeast corner of
Bunert and Martin Roads. It was named after August and Mine Bunert
who sold the land to the Warren School District No. 4 in January of
1875. The school is a wood frame board-and-batten structure.
Originally the school housed students in grades 1-8. A larger two
room school was built in 1927 and sat next to the Bunert School. In
1944 a new 6 room school was built and named Charwood after Betty
Chargo and Irene Woodward. Classes K-4 were taught in the one room
school, 5-6 and 7-8 were taught in the two room school. The two
schools had 3 teachers and 65 students. Classes were held in it
until 1944. The two older schools were then sold to John O’Connor
who made them into residences. In 1970 it was sold to the Santa
Maria Lodge. In 1987 the lodge people offered it to The Warren
Historical Society who later moved a few hundred yards to its
present location just south of the Tower High School and have
restored it as a school and museum.

The traffic had
shifted to Van Dyke away from the old state road. So Warren Village
remained a rural community. The other village of Center Line was
prospering

World War One led to
the deaths of several young men. See the separate file on World War
I. Thousands of men and women went to war to defend our freedom.
Many fought and died. Many came home. America was stronger and
freedom was brighter because of them. Our constitution and bill of
rights are very important. You should read them. What is the
constitution? What is the bill of rights?

In 1918 there was a
huge snow storm that absolutely isolated Center Line for several
days. It was just impossible to go anywhere. There was little if any
snow removal equipment anywhere. People were digging out for weeks.
And they did not have snow shovels or show ploughs.

1919 pop up toaster
invented.

1920 Radio in most
homes.

Telephone service
began in 1920.

1920 American women in
the paid workforce: 23.7% of all women; 46.4% of unmarried women; 9%
of married women

1924 a survey of
American housewives indicated that they spent 52 hours a week doing
housework.

On the railroad line
at Eleven Mile Road on the northeast corner was located the Lewis
Hartzig Esquire residence.

The Halmich Farm was
located on the northeast corner of Twelve Mile and Mound.

There were several
bands that had free band concerts. The Schools had bands, the
American Legion, there a few community bands. My mother played
clarinet, accordion and ocarina. To hear the symphony we traveled to
Belle Isle for free concerts at the band shell there.

Although some
telegraph service came to Macomb County as early as 1850 reliable
telegraph service did not until after 1880.

Postal service arrived
about 1880.

The original township
hall is still in the Warren Village but the Old Township hall at
Eleven Mile and Van Dyke was torn down in 1957 after a few years of
non use.

The Harwood house
built around 1880 was home of Homer Harwood who published Warren's
first newspaper, the Warren Watchman from 1880-1921.

Ray Holmes published
the Home Merchant newspaper in Center Line for many years.

In 1890 the condition
of the old State Road planks had deteriorated so much that they were
condemned and the road was paved with stones.

The Murthum House
located at 5820 Murthum was built in 1895. This is a combination
Greek Revival and Queen Anne (noted for gables, dental moldings,
fish scale shingles and fretwork) design. Several acres of land were
used for the William Murthim School which was also known as Victory
School. There also was a Victory-Ellis school in Center Line.

The Kidd/Beer House
was built around 1900.

The Baseline Hardware
and the Baseline Feed Store were built at the turn of the century
and are still in operation in 2004. The abstract deed for this
property dates back to 1833. It has been owned and operated the
Joseph Verheye family since 1939. Located on Van Dyke in the locale
of Baseline.

Interurbans

In 1901 the
interurbans began. They lasted until 1930. The tracks were on Van
Dyke and turned around near where Homer's Drug Store used to be.
(across from Shoppers Market) This line would have gone further
North and over to The Village of Warren had it not been for
objections of farmers that these machines made too much noise and
would adversely affect their livestock.

In 1901 the Mt
Clements Sugar Company was founded. They made sugar from Michigan
grown sugar beets. Now the residents could get locally produced
sugar.

The first bank in
Warren was The State Savings Bank of Warren in 1902 founded by C.A.
Burr and Arthur Newberry. It was located in what later became
Diehl’s General Store. It later moved across in an impressive
new brick building at the northeast corner Chicago Road and Mound.

In the early 1900's
electricity came in and phones were installed, cars and tractors
were beginning to replace horses, although steam was still widely
used, Van Dyke was crushed stone in the early twenties.

Another wave of
settlers came in around 1919. This time they were mostly from
southern and the Midwestern states. The Walter C. Piper Co purchased
farms off of Van Dyke north of Eight Mile Road and resold them into
lots at fairly low prices.

Before electricity
came in lighting was from oil lamps and candles. A lot of fires were
caused by them.

1900s

The 1900’s saw
many other changes. Electric home appliances started to appear. The
first electric appliance was the electric iron. Two wheel bicycles
were beginning to be popular. 1904 gasoline powered tractors, 1904
ice-cream cones.

The traffic had
shifted to Van Dyke away from the old state road. So Warren Village
remained a rural community. The other village of Center Line was
prospering.

In 1905 David and
Alice completed work on the carriage house located on the property
of Alice's father Elijah Davy who had given it to Alice in 1880. The
street on which it was located was named Wilson street which was
later named Seventh Street. He had bought it from Charles Davy in
1848 for $300.00. Charles Davy had bought the 40 acres of land from
public auction for $65.00 to pay the debts of the estate of Orton
Gibbs. This 40 acres contained the west half of what later became
Beebe's Corner.

1908 the Model T
Automobile was begun to be sold. Mr Ford constantly stressed
dependability and durability The car was made to last, be easy to
fix, be able to navigate the poor roads and be affordable. Evidently
the cars were such as the Model T evently sold 15 million of them.

1908 first electric
vacuum cleaner for home use, The ladies the bra was invented by Mary
Jacob in 1913. These replaced corsets, before that take your best
guess.

1914 electric washing
machine,

1914 canneries
produced many food products in tin cans. These became increasingly
available at the local general stores like Buechel's.

In the early 1900's
electricity came in and phones were installed. By 1910 Center Line
and Warren soon had electricity and phones. There were no buttons on
the phones then and no dial. You would pick the speaker part then
crank the crank to get the operators attention. You would then speak
into the microphone bell part and ask to be connected to the other
person. The speaker part was held up separately to your ear and was
separate from the microphone part that you spoke in to.

1916 a refrigerator
cost $900 then, by 1920 10,000 were sold, by 1925 75,000 were sold.
Most people still used an ice box at that time. This was a cabinet
that had a compartment where the ice man placed a big block of ice.
There was a pan on the floor under the ice box. If someone forgot to
empty it and you walked up to it at night for a snack you got a rude
very cold message from your bare feet. The ice box had benefits. It
did not use any electricity and never wore out.

Drilled
wells

In 1909 Henry L Claeys
came to Warren with a well drilling machine. He drilled wells in
three counties eventually using three machines. Later he founded the
Claeys Plumbing supply company. In Center Line it was the Wiegand
family were well drillers and even sponsored a community cistern.

Natural gas service
arrived in the late 1920’s

Frank Peck had a
Grocery and meat market at Chicago and Mound roads.

Most of Warren
remained a rural farming community until the 1940s. Many families
still raised some livestock like chickens and maintained their own
gardens. And the chickens were no problem. Except for
the rooster chickens aren't very noisy. And a rooster is not needed
for eggs for eating. So we could have chickens today. They eat most
anything including table scraps, weeds, weed seeds, and insects. It
would be a good idea to allow people to have chickens for eggs and
food again.

Most of the growth
area was in southern Warren south of Eleven Mile road.

Specifically
Center Line

After the
businesses Kunrod’s Corners shifted to the Center Line Road at
Church Road (Engleman) after the church was built, the community
became known as Center Line.

In 1875
the population of Center Line then was about 125.

Hyronemus
Engleman a Civil War veteran was then postmaster and the following
businesses were present:

Center
Line however voted to become a village in 1925 and a city in 1936

St
Clement Church and School

This was
formed in 1853 and was serviced by visiting priests. In 1854 the
first St. Clement church was built on Van Dyke. Before this little
wooden church was built on Church Road (now Engleman) and the centre
line, residents had made long rides to St. Mary's in downtown
Detroit or Assumption on Gratiot at Six Mile Road. In bad weather
the roads were almost impassible. The wagons had no heaters in
winter. The community known as Kunrod’s corners was centered
around State Road (now Sherwood) and Ten Mile Road which was a dirt
or mud path. Wesley Arnold humble historian stated that he never did
find evidence of Kunrod. Hopefully something may be found in the
deeds of that time. So he supposed that he was a businessman who
rented a building at Ten Mile and Sherwood. The local citizens were
mostly immigrants from Germany, Ireland, France and Belgium.

They
decided that then wanted a church in the nearby area. The St Clement
Parish was established around 1850 and met in local homes. An actual
church building was not constructed until four years later. The
local people decided that they wanted a church to be built on the
west side of the “Centre Line”. This was the center road
of Warren Township (now Van Dyke). They felt that they would not be
able to get to church in the spring and fall when the roads turned
to mud seas, especially over by Kunrod’s corners as this was
the lowest area near by the creek. Also more residents lived nearer
to the East side location. Peter Rotarius donated two acres of his
land on the land on the west side of the “Centre line”.
Next to him was Johann Weingartz who donated an acre. Later Mathias
and Josepf Miller donated two acres of land they had been given as
payment for work they had done for Joseph Cramer. The community
voted to establish on the East side of the centre line. Additional
properties were donated and several parcels of land were raffled and
the money used to buy six acres of the Cramer-Clemens farm. The
parish may have been named St Clement after Mr. Clemens. The parish
boundaries were from Woodward to Lake St Clair and from Eight Mile
to Fourteen Mile Roads.

In 1854 a
simple wood frame church building was built. In 1857 a one-room
school was erected. The parish was served by visiting priests until
1858 when Father Henry Meuffels became the first resident priest. In
1868 an addition was put on to the wood frame church.

In trying
to read the pastors writing as I worked on this history, I was told
that they went to a different school of handwriting. I don’t
know about that but they sure sometimes got careless about good
penmanship. When all of the letters look like undotted i’s
than something is wrong. Plus I had to buy two Latin books to figure
out the meanings as the records are in Latin. Father William
Hendrickx became the pastor in 1868. He spoke several languages.

By 1870
the first wooden church had become too crowded and was enlarged. A
New pipe organ was also installed.

On May 10
1871 the cemetery was relaid out. During Fr Hendrick's time (1871)
the school building was enlarged and Housing dwellings for the
teachers and organist were built.

In May
10, 1871 the St Clement cemetery was relayed out. A lot of
people from Warren are buried there. The St Clement school was
enlarged and dwellings for the church organist and teachers was
erected. Nuns served as teachers and were not paid. On
several occasions they asked the pastor for help as they did not
have food or the means to buy clothes. They were not very
happy about the answers they got from him. Of course the
church was fairly poor.

According
to a Macomb Daily news article "Fr Hendrick proposed on Jan 6
1880 the building of a new church. "The proposal was received
with great enthusiasm and the corner stone was laid on July 5,
1880....The church was dedicated Nov 6, 1881." (Macomb Daily
Pagent of Progress)

In 1880 a
new brick St Clement was built based on the plans for the Sacred
heart Church in Detroit. Its dimensions were 136 feet by 54 with
five entrances and fifteen stained glass windows. It cost $18,000.
The corner stone laid out on July 5 had a mistake. The stone mason
got carried away and had 1888 on it. But careful reworking covered
that up until years later. That was a very well made church.
Construction started in September and the church was dedicated on
Nov 6, 1881. The building was 136 feet long and 54 feet wide at a
cost of $18,000. It had 15 stained glass windows and a number of
paintings, chaste frescoes. It was one of the most beautiful
churches in the area. It had 5 entrances. At the time it was the
highest structure in Warren. According to a Macomb Daily article
dated April 1, 1967 George Freidhoff an immigrant from Bavaria and
his uncle John Freidhoff helped to construct the church. A Mrs.
Freidhoff reported that Lambert Peters, his brother Antoine Peters,
and son-in-law Peter Guion worked as plasterers and bricklayers on
the church. Lambert Peters also did the beautiful frescos, cove
ceilings and arches. Some of the organists were Miss Cecelia Wirth,
Miss Catherine Miller, and Mrs. Frank Kaltz. Sextons were Ben and
Joseph Grobble and Adam Burkhesier. Mrs. Freidhoff stated that
people drove their buggies for miles to visit the beautiful church
and that some of the early church members were the families of:
Antonie and Henry Peters, Alex and Noah Groesbeck, William Henry
Halmich, Alfred Peters, John, and George Friedhoff, Anthony Wolf,
Peter Kaltz, Peter Burg, Mathias Miller, George Springer, Andrew
Rinke, John Grobbel, Michael Kuchey, Bernard Hoste, John Campbell,
George Baumgardner, Robert Dalton, Joseph Metter, Simon Leonard,
Henry Vaer Hoven, John and Willian DeGrandchamp, George Gill, John
Elliot, Joseph Rivard, John Hafferley, Louis Schoenherr, William
Jackson, Frank Rivard, August VeLyne, Daniel Jackson, Reinhold
Hessel, John Buechel, Joseph Altermatt, August LaMael, Robert Rasch,
Chris Ruhlman, William Theut, John Theut and Heronomus Engleman.

Later the
frame church was removed in order to build a new brick school with
two classrooms and an auditorium.

In 1890
the new Pastor Father Kramer convinced three sisters of Providence
of St Mary’s of the Woods, Vigo County Indiana to come here to
teach.

Nuns
served as teachers and were not paid. On several occasions they
asked the pastor for help as they did not have food or the means to
buy clothes. They were not very happy about the answers they got
from him. Of course the church was fairly poor.

They were
replaced in 1892 by the Sisters of St. Dominic from Racine,
Wisconsin. In 1896 an upper story was added to the small schoolhouse
and was quickly turned into a hall where school children put on
plays and held recitals.

The
Official St Clement’s history states that picnics were held
across from the church in Engleman grove and that a platform was
built for dancing and a German Band played music.

By the
year 1916, 182 students were enrolled at St. Clement School. That
number rose to 600 students by 1920. The pressing need for a new and
larger school led to the construction of a two-story, 16 room brick
and concrete school. It had a high school and auditorium with a
1,000 seat capacity. The first high school graduating class, in
1926, consisted of one person Ester Delia Schnoblen (Smith). In 1952
Father Timothy Murray became pastor of St. Clement and ground was
broken for a new school to accommodate 1,300 students. In 1960 work
was begun on the present modern church with 65 foot-high vaulted
ceiling, gables forming a cross, hundreds of panes of stained glass
and seating capacity for 1,600. It also has a 130 foot bell tower.

Next to
this church many businesses were built. John F Buechel had
moved his store from Kunrod’s corners to a location just south
of the church. He sold clothing, groceries, candy, cigars,
shoes, combs and many common articles needed by the local farmers.
See the many pictures in the folder “store”. Buechel was
noted for his fine penmanship (unlike the pastors of the church) and
he also served as township clerk for years.

Joseph A
Rinke and Michael Smith opened an hardware and agricultural
implements business just north of the church. Later Smith
opened a lumber yard at Ten Mile and Sherwood.

Some of
the oldest structures in Center Line lie hidden inside some of the
older houses. One would find hand hewn beams and may be wooden pegs.

The
Community Church in Center Line was built in 1924.

The
Bethel Methodist Church on Packard in Center Line was built in the
1920’s.

The
Trinity Lutheran Church is located one block south of Stephens and
one block East of Van Dyke at 8150 Chapp in Warren.

1851
sewing machine invented and by 1860 100,000 were sold.

1852 cast
iron stoves were becoming common.

1854 the
first of four St, Clement churches was built on Van Dyke at Church
Street (Engleman)

In 1863
Joseph Buechel built the first general store at Ten Mile and State
Road in Center Line

In 1900
Center Line was reached from Detroit by Van Dyke and by street car.

The car
tracks were built high on the side of Van Dyke, then paved with
crushed stone from Eight Mile Road north. The street car
tracks ended just North of Ten Mile Road.

I'll
quote from the manuscript of "Pioneering in Warren Township"
by Anna Kluck. "Center Line at that time was separated
from the outskirts of Detroit at Six Mile Road by four miles of
broad green meadows broken here and there by a sturdy farm house.
As far as the little community at the end of the tracks was
concerned, those four miles may as well have been 40 to 400, so
different was their way of life. They even had a slight accent
picked up from their German parents that made a difference, "In
stepping off the street car one would encounter no building for
about a block. The first place was Gus Miller’s with a
barber shop next door. Then came Buechel's old general store
and a little further on St Clement Church. Across Engleman,
then called Church Street was an old frame store that was Rinkie’s
hardware store.

Further
down were Wilie’s Butcher Shop and Drug Store was Center
Line’s entire business district."

The main
road from 1820-1880 was the State Road. Again quoting Gerald Neil
“it ran as follows: Northeast from Detroit on Connors, across
Eight Mile Road almost at the Van Dyke intersection. Continuing on
northwest to Sherwood, (a small section of Connors road still
remains here) then north on Sherwood to Eleven Mile. Here it angled
northwesterly to join up with Mound Road and continue on north
through into Sterling Township.” Part of the road in Detroit,
between Van Dyke at Grinnel and winding down to Harper, now known as
St Cyril bore the name Center Line Road until sometime around 1945.
The State Road was full of ruts and either dusty or a sea of mud
until it was planked in 1856. Quite a few years later it was also
condemned after the planks rotted. It was then paved with gravel.

Van Dyke
(then called the territorial road and known as the Center Line road)
was soon built. A base line had been set up across the state and the
various future main roads drawn on maps. Van Dyke was a fairly
straight dirt road by 1840. The name Van Dyke was from the family
that had a big farm on Van Dyke further to the South and a member of
that family James A Van Dyke had been elected mayor of Detroit. It
was named that about 1885. Even later it was named the Earl memorial
highway.

Sherwood
Road was planked in 1856. This also became known as the State Road
sometimes called the Center Line road which ran from Detroit North
from Connor Creek past Harper and north along what is now called
Sherwood to the Village of Warren. A settlement of Hickory Corners
once exited at Connor Road, which followed Connor Creek to
Jefferson.

Van Dyke
was first a dirt trail, than a dirt road then planked, then redone
with gravel, then in the early 1920’s had two concrete slabs
18 feet apart. About 1927 the citizens were petitioning the
government to have the gravel center 18 foot section paved.

Van Dyke
was a fairly straight dirt road by 1840.

The
center of Warren Township was at eleven Mile Road and Van Dyke ) the
Center Line Road. On the South East Corner there was built the Old
Township hall.

Although
Gratiot was the first paved cement road other areas caught up within
a few years. By 1950 practically every road in the city was
paved with cement.

Center
Line had a few saloons and they had spittoons. Some became
speakeasys.

Where
Harding is now located at Van Dyke there was a farm there with a big
hand dug well. All farms had hand dug wells as there was no
drilling equipment. I am told 30 feet was sufficient depth
back then to provide water depending on locality.

The main
occupation in Center Line was farming and raising livestock.

In
1863 Joseph Buechel built the first general store at Ten Mile and
State Road (Sherwood). This little store also contained the
first post office. Mail was probably not delivered
until the railroads started leaving mail bags at Beebe’s
Corners and Kunrod’s Corners. It was called the "Buechel
House" and also contained a saloon and living quarters.
Buechel’s store was later moved to be near the St. Clement
Church so busy farmers could go to church and then to the store on
the same day. Sophia Buechel was the first postmistress.

Schools
of Center Line

In the
pioneer days Southern Warren and Center Line had two schools the St
Clement school, which was in existence before 1868 and the Public
one room school. Both were most likely built with donated supplies
and labor of the local farm families. They may have had two school
raisings. This is where the local families got together to construct
and raise the walls put up the roof beams, and roof the school. Both
schools were a community effort. The St Clement School was located
near the St Clement church on Church Road (later named Engleman) and
Van Dyke. There were at least two nuns who were teachers. They were
volunteers and served without pay. The Church provided meager living
quarters for the nuns and little else. Then finally in 1892 they
were paid $250 per year. (that computes to 68 cents a day and they
sometimes gave money to others when help was needed) The St Clement
School was enlarged in 1871, and again in 1921 when 600 children
attended and 16 classrooms were added.

The
public school was a basic one room structure with out houses and a
wood shed. It had a pot belly wood stove with a long stove pipe that
ran the length of the building in order to make the most of the heat
as it served as a radiator. It had wooden benches for seats with
carved desk tops. Later it had oil lamps perhaps replaced by
electric bulbs for its last few years. It had a bell tower and most
likely a bell. It was located on the North East corner of the State
Road and Ten Mile Road. This became known as the Plunkett School
because Mortimer Plunkett taught there alone for many years. It
appears on a 1875 map as does the St Clement School. What happened
to the Plunkett School bell? Did it go to Busch? Some questions may
never be answered. When I searched for it in the bell tower in 1957,
it was gone.

The
following is quoted or paraphrased from Bert Hazen’s history
and other sources.

The
school records appear to start with the creation of School District
No. 2 in 1899. The school board consisted of Bath Desgrandchsmps
moderator, Peter Kaltz assessor and John Kaltz director. The school
budget that year was $584.22. In 1899 they contracted with Jacob F
Hartsig to furnish “eight cords of good sound soft wood to be
piled in the wood shed”. “The members of the board wrote
down nine rules of conduct the students were to obey. Records do not
reveal that rule number seven was ever rescinded. It reads: ‘In
case of disobedience the teacher shall inflict such punishment as he
thinks proper and any scholar violating such comments shall be
expelled from this school.” “The teacher in 1899 was
Frank L. Bacon. How long he had been employed in District No. 2
prior to that time is not known. however we know that his successor,
Mortimer W Plunkett was the only teacher between 1900 and 1916 and
he taught pupils in all classes of all ages.” “Mortimer
agreed to accept a salary of $333 to cover ten month teaching. In
1901 he received an increase of $27”. “He worked for $9
per week. It was quite apparent that he and the school board were
pleased with each other.” “A painting and whitewashing
of the school and the outbuildings cost $19.25 for eleven days
painter’s wages and $3.43 for materials. John Kaltz charged
far less to repair the school and its fences. His labor for ten days
was $10.00.”

Busch School was constructed in 1921-1922. Property may
have been donated by the Busch family. Busch School was named after
Louis Busch who owned the property and who served on the school
board from 1914 to 1948. A nine room addition was added in 1928.An
interesting note was that it was a two story school and had a big
pipe about 3 ½ feet in diameter that angled down from the
second floor and then leveled off. This was the school’s fire
escape. In later times the bell was removed from the bell tower. The
teachers may have had hand held bells. I remember that the principal
Gordon Motz at Busch had a hand turned mechanical siren for fire
drills.

The Ellis primary four room school was built in 1926
after Mr. Ellis donated the land. All eight elementary grades were
taught there by four teachers.

“1925: At an annual meeting it was voted to
change from a primary to a graded school district.

May Peck was hired and placed in charge of the school
system. She taught continuously until 1958.” The peck
elementary school, built in 1961 was named after her.

In 1927 Harry W Miller was hired as superintendent.
Bernard Kaltz and Hugo Rinke were elected to the board. In 1928 a
“temporary” frame two room school Grosebeck Elementary
was built and served 22 years. It was named after Governor Alex
Groesbeck. Also “an addition to Busch was made which included
a gymnasium.”

In 1928 “the first of the famous Busch Bands was
organized by Homer Hazelton.”

Mckinley and Macomb Park schools were built about 1928.

In “1932: The depression caused pay cuts and the
issuance of script.”

In 1941 Frank Ladd donated property on Cunningham for a
school site. “The neighborhood raised the money and purchased
a temporary frame building. The board equipped and staffed it and
the Ladd Elementary School came into existence.”

By1942 so many families moved in with children and that
“Federal Government erected the Victory Elementary School and
also equipped the ten rooms.” In that year voters also
approved pupil transportation.

In 1950: “The Miller Elementary, named to honor
the former superintendent, and the Sherwood Elementary Schools were
completed.

Property was acquired near the Victory school in 1951.
With voter approved money and with a Federal grant the Center Line
Senior High School construction was begun on Arsenal Avenue in 1952.

1954 Center Line High School was opened, Groesbeck
School was built, Ladd was built and other improvements were made
including additions to Miller and Sherwood Schools. In 1957
Additions to Busch and Ladd were made and Victory and Ellis were
remodeled. In 1960 saw the new May Peck Elementary, Mark Roose
Elementary, Glenn Wolfe Junior High schools and addition to Center
Line High School.

1927 The first municipal building was built in Center
Line.

Civic
Groups

As a poor
child growing up in Center Line with a crippled mother and aged
grandfather for parents I learned about the goodfellows one
Christmas when they to our surprise brought us food. It was a great
honor to me in later years to pay my dues back to them by donating
to them and becoming a goodfellow myself. We sold papers, created
food bags and delivered them to many needy families. Please buy a
paper from them when you see them selling in the streets.

I will be
adding histories of the other civic groups.

Center
Line becomes a village

The
little farming community wanted to have more services than the
township was providing so they decided to form a village. 1925
Center Line became a village. The first village president was
Bernard Wolfe in 1927.

In
December of 1935 the Village of Center Line’s citizens voted
to become a home rule city and the first mayor was Dr. Russel E.
Lynch. Roads were paved, sewers and sidewalks installed, and
municipal services increased.

Fire
protection

In March
of 1926 they purchased a LaFrance fire engine. It was a type
75, had a chain drive, and could pump 750 gallons of water per
minute. The fire truck saw much service, and at one time was the
only fire engine in the Warren township. Its high axles and
large wheels made it possible to navigate the "roads" of
the township.

The Fire
engine was first housed in George Theut’s garage on Engleman
before the village was able to build a building to house it.
Center Line had a fine volunteer fire department for most of its
urban history. Your historian served with other brave
volunteers under Chief Norman Smith. We several times risked
our lives in fiery and smoke filled situations. I remember
once going into a burning house to see if anyone was trapped in it.
Kids will hide in closets and under beds and die of the smoke.
Well my face mask fogged up and I couldn’t see so I backed out
for a minute to clear the mask. Upon going back in I
discovered that if I had taken one more step on the first trip I
would have stepped into the burning hole above the red hot furnace
which was the cause of the fire. I would have been the first
volunteer dying in action.

Center
Line has been lucky in that no fireman has died. We had some
close calls like one I remember as a volunteer when at about 3 AM in
the morning I was on top of Joe’s Bicycle Shop next to and
looking down at red hot steel beams now glowing orange in color
twisting in the heat and paint and turpentine cans exploding like
bombs at the big Handy Andy Hardware fire. We were trying to
get water down into the fire from that angle when one of the tall
ladder trucks which was pouring water onto the fire from the other
side got blinded by the great amount of smoke and accidentally
poured water on us who were on the Joe’s roof. We
literally had to drop our hoses and grab on to the shingles to keep
from being swept down into the burning inferno. Close calls
were just part of our duty. We should say a thankful prayer
that we have good fire and police protection because for most of
history there was none. And before Warren got that first fire
truck all a farmer could do was try to get out, get the animals out
and watch it burn. Once going wooden barns and houses could
not be extinguished with a few buckets of water thrown on. Although
settlers in the fort at Detroit successfully used wet swabs on long
poles to put out fires set by flaming arrows from Indians.

Thank
You Chrysler

After
a big fire at the Chrysler plant in which Center Line sent in its
one and only engine. Chrysler gave Warren a couple of new
Dodge truck bodies and gave Center Line one.

The last working farms were gone in by the 1960’s

Drains were needed and were built they ranged from 8
inches to 8 feet in diameter. In 1920 the Bear Creek went up Van
Dyke with 24 inch tile to the Bear Creek.

The martin drain went from 54 inches to 84 inches.
A lift was constructed and many other mains and drains built and
maintained.

In the pioneer days some Center Line resident’s
children went to school in the area of Center Line. Center
Line had two schools the St Clement School, which was in existence
before 1868 and the Public one room school. Both were most
likely built with donated supplies and labor of the local farm
families. They may have had two school raisings. This is
where the local families got together to construct and raise the
walls put up the roof beams, and roof the school. Both schools
were a community effort. The St Clement School was located
near the St Clement church on Church Road (later named Engleman) and
Van Dyke. There were at least two nuns who were teachers.
They were volunteers and served without pay. The Church
provided meager living quarters for the nuns and little else.
The St Clement School was enlarged in 1871.

Nearly all of the rooms in the schools had
windows. Even the rest rooms had frosted windows and at least one
that could be opened for ventilation.. At first the schools
did not have or need electricity. But later when they did, it
did not matter if the power went out as teachers could still teach
and children could read and write fine with the light that often
came in from more than one direction. Sorry to report that in
this historian’s viewpoint the architects now days do not
design school buildings for practical use. Daylight is free.
Most newer schools ignore this. Why not at least have
skylights above inside rooms. Why not have light coming from
both sides like Center Line High School which won an award for its
architecture. This historian went to school there and at Busch
school and we never had a problem reading when the power went off.
If the power goes out for even just a few minutes now days, they
shut down the school. The school bath rooms today have no
windows and little ventilation.

Crime is so bad in many of today’s schools that
bathrooms even the teachers are often locked. Even teachers
are assaulted now days. I know of a substitute teacher that
almost died when a student threw a heavy steel bar at him just
missing his head. The teacher had refused to give them two
lunch periods and insisted that they do the work assigned by the
regular teacher. Teachers now have a tough job just maintaining
discipline.

What has
changed in our culture that bathrooms have to be locked?

Pardon
the following historical observations. Teachers are not
allowed to “touch” students. But the students
often assault each other and almost nothing is done. The
teachers are afraid of the students, the Administration and School
Board are afraid of lawsuits. Many parents are now afraid of
their kids. And the kids, they aren’t afraid of
anything, probably because they are allowed in our society to get
away with almost anything. There is little to no punishment
for misbehaving. If a parent spanks his kid in a store the
police are called and charges are filed against the parent. As
a teacher who has taught every grade level in local schools and at
college level I have heard many kids say, “My parents can’t
punish me because I will call the police and say they hit me and
they will have to go to court.” Perhaps we need to work
on better parenting and holding teenagers responsible for their
actions.

The Boy
Scout movement started in 1913 and the Macomb Council for the Boy
Scouts started in 1925. Scouts and scout leaders have provided
countless good deeds and projects for the community. They have
helped many young people find good ideals for life. They have
also saved many lives. A boy scout saved my life when I was a
child.

The whole
country was affected by the Great depression of the 1930's.
Joblessness was very high. This hit everyone very hard. Most
people just had to do without a lot of things they were used to.
Banks closed. President Franklin Roosevelt instituted several
programs to help get things going again. The WPA Works
Progress Administration program provided public jobs. Many
people benefited from these.

Busch
School was built around 1922 and later added to. The teachers
expected students to learn or at least pay attention. If a
student misbehaved the teacher could call the parent and most of the
time the kid got a talking to or a lickin and was well behaved the
rest of the year. Today the teachers sometimes do not have the
backing of parents or even of administration. One day as a
substitute teacher I was reprimanded severely by principal J.
He told me that I had falsely accused a student of damaging school
property. I tried to explain but he wouldn’t listen.
Two students had lied during role call and used absent students
names. The class went along with it and as a substitute I did
not know the students names. Then one painted red paint on the
absent students art project saying that it was his own. The
other student was busy cutting up thick poster board into strips for
his art project and he assured me that he was creating a special art
project. The rest of the class went along with the deception.
I wasn’t going to take the reprimand laying down so I made my
business to visit the regular teacher when she returned. When
I told her what had happened and had her look at the evidence she
was shocked. I was proven accurate in my report but the
students that destroyed the other student’s art project and
destroyed expensive art supplies were never held responsible for
their actions as the principal did not take any action on it. And he
never apologized to me for his charging me falsely.

Today if
a teacher tries to call a parent most of the time they are not at
home or the parent tells the teacher that it is the teachers problem
or tells the teacher off. As a historic observation I believe
the teaching was more effective when the teacher had authority to
use a willow switch or paddle on rare occasion. Now days kids
can disrupt classes, interrupt the teacher, use foul language, steal
things, hit other kids and get away with it. And this lack of
self discipline is most often rooted in peer pressure, lack of
proper parenting and as a result of negative values learned from the
real modern educator of young people, the television. Young
people spend more time watching TV than they do in school and they
learn only a small percentage of the time they are in school because
the teacher must spend so much time on discipline or keeping
everyone busy. The “bad” kids get lots of
attention and the “good” kids sometimes get neglected.
Last historic observation on education is that too many parents
today have too placed too little priority on their children’s
education. In the 2000’s too many parents are allowing
their children to spend thousands of hours on morally lacking,
educationally lacking entertainment.

Our
Libraries

Both
Center Line and Warren public libraries were started when local
citizens got together collected books and found a place to place
them. In Center Line a group of men formed the Men's Club of Center
Line. This was in 1928 before there were any Rotary or Lions clubs
etc. They accumulated about 500 volumes. The library was housed in
the basement of the Center Line Community Church which later became
the Presbyterian Church. It was housed later to several stores then
in the Center Line recreation building. Finally it moved to its
present building on Weingartz on land that belonged to farmer
Michael Weingartz..

Recreation

In the
late forties Center Line had things young people could do. But
this paid off as Center Line had some of the lowest delinquency
rates in the nation and was known as a good place to live.
Ronie’s drive in on Van Dyke was a popular place. There
were no fast food paces yet. There were bowling lanes.
Johny’s recreation was a pool parlor. There were the beaches
to go to in the summer. I remember riding my bike down Van
Dyke to swim in the Lipkie pool. Boys and girls in scouting
went on trips all of the time. We went swimming, camping,
biking and on field trips. We saw the stars at the Cranbrook
Planetarium. We visited Marygrove College for Aviation merit
badge. We went on the big boats to Put-in-bay and Bob-lo.
There were carnivals. Each year the Circus came to town.
We went to the local and State Fairs. As scouts we learned to
do good deeds. We learned First Aid and Emergency
Preparedness. We helped save lives in auto accidents.
The scouts went to riding stables or D-A Scout Ranch and rode
horses. Scouts went on field trips to farms and parks.
Some even did mountain climbing. We did canoeing on the
Ausable River. An of course families went on car day trips,
picnics, and vacations. And there were several places in
Center Line to buy Ice-cream. As a poor kid I picked up pop
bottles and got 2 cents each. I went to Bricklys on Van Dyke
and bought a nice cup of ice cream with a wooden spoon for 5 cents.
Homer Hazelton’s Drug store had a great soda fountain.
They made many good things there. Sometimes Homer would sit
down at his organ and play some music. They had books and
magazines there also. We got our first Boy Scout handbooks
there. Even today the Boy Scout Handbook is packed with things
every boy, girl, man and woman in should know such as first aid,
CPR, reading maps, and basic survival knowledge. Tom Pounder
of the Center Line Recreation even had a travel bus to visit
interesting places.

Van Dyke
was first a dirt trail, than a dirt road then planked, then redone
with gravel, then in the early 1920’s had two concrete slabs
18 feet apart. About 1927 the citizens were petitioning the
government to have the gravel center 18 foot section paved.

Although
Gratiot was the first paved cement road other areas caught up within
a few years. By 1950 practically every road in the city was
paved with cement.

Theater

There
were theater groups in Center Line. In 1927 a theater was
constructed on Van Dyke in Center Line at a cost of $110,000.
It also had an $8,000 pipe organ. It may have become the
Liberty Movie Theater later. Alex M Schoenherr was the
president, George D Briggs secretary, George Walsh assistant
secretary. The Weigand family was also a stockholder in this
venture. Farther south on Van Dyke near Nine Mile road was the Van
Dale a little storefront theater that showed movies.

In the
1930's the population was 2,600. 1930-45 The movie industry was at
its peak. The Liberty Movie theater built in Center Line on
the west side of Van Dyke just south from St Clement Church.
Who owned that. Does anyone have a picture of it? How
much were the tickets and what did you see?

And down
a little further North was the bowing alley.

Just
North of the bowing alley on the West side of Van Dyke was Ma
Zott’s, a favorite eating place of that time.

Ben
Grobbel was sexton of St Clement Church.

During
World War II, the Tank Arsenal (the "Arsenal of Democracy")
was built. There was a big temporary trailer park at 11 Mile and Van
Dyke. This was followed by the establishment of the GM Tech Center
in 1949, which used 330 acres out of 1000 acres of GM owned land in
the center of Warren. The GM Tech Center employs over 20,000
people. Many people in Center Line and Warren had jobs at
those two places. . As late as 1968 every once in awhile a
tank would be pulled out on to Lawrence Ave in southern Warren to
test things. This was done mostly after dark. Imagine the
surprise to a speeding driver when he suddenly found himself quickly
closing in on a huge camouflaged colored tank with a cannon pointed
directly at him.

New
stores and businesses replaced old as a rural community became
urbanized. The population of Center Line In 1940 was 3,200.

The USO
hall was built in 1941. It opened in 1942 serving US servicemen..
The Tank arsenal was beginning to be built at that time also.
Many of the workers moved into Center Line.

In World
War Two several local sons were lost. Many sacrifices were
made by families.

Mysterious
big tower

What was
that mysterious big tower behind the Brick St Clement Church? It had
a Windmill next to it and was two stories high. See the pictures of
it on the Center Line History website macombhistory.us

The
Chief Norman Smith

They don't come any better than Norm Smith. He has
helped many people, saved lives been a dedicated civil servant and
wonderful grandfather. This historian can also add he has been a
good friend. He shows the true Christian spirit and is an example
for us all. I remember him as a Center Line Goodfellow who brought
needed food to my poor family at Christmas time. (My mother was
crippled and disabled and my father was absent and not supporting) I
remember when as a boy scout he helped me with my firemanship merit
badge. He has overseen and protected the St Clement Cemetery for
years and also has done other community work. Norm Smith also was a
great source of information on Center Line History. I know of other
good deeds he has done.

With increasing population the local home wells were
beginning to not keep up with water demands. Also the local
system of private out houses and septic tanks was just not suitable
to an urban setting. Working with county officials a drainage
district was formed and Center Line tied into the nine mile sewage
drain to carry sewage to Lake St Clair.

In the
1950s Center Line population had increased greatly and the area had
become urbanized. Farms had been replaced by subdivisions. The
current roads were built. With the building of the roads also went
drains and water and gas mains. Big drains were built to handle the
runoff from the street and housing drains.

More electric, water and gas utilities were installed.
More telephone poles and services were installed and later improved
in a constant cycle of improvement.

Homer
Hazelton’s drug store had an ice cream parlor as did many
others.

At first
there were no fast food places, just a few restaurants and bars. But
Americans liked their cars and soon drive-ins sprang up. A&W had
delicious root beer which was made of real sassafras not some
imitation. A & W and Ronnie’s drive in on Van Dyke were
popular There were car hops that came to your car and took the
order.. You parked your car, rolled down your window and a waitress
would place a tray on the window with the drinks and food. If you
wanted more service you flashed your lights.

There
were several bowling alleys in Warren. The one at Nine mile and Van
Dyke is still there. Ma Zotts on Van Dyke in Center Line was next to
one also.

Each year
the dirt streets were treated with something to keep down the dust.

More and more streets were being paved with cement.

Until the late
1940s the ice man still brought ice in a big horse drawn wagon with
a huge tarp on top. The kids loved him because he would give you a
chip of ice to suck on and you felt like you really got something
especially in the hot summer. But this was soon replaced by the ice
factory down on Van Dyke near Nine mile. Or you could buy a block of
ice by putting money in a machine. Many people still needed them for
their ice boxes which as folks could afford them were replaced by
refrigerators. If you forgot to empty the pan under the ice box and
you walked up to it with your bare feet you had a cold shocking
surprise.

You could even work on your car in your driveway
without someone giving you a ticket. Now it is illegal to work on
your own car. Where has our freedom gone?Until the late 1940s
the ice man still brought ice in a big horse drawn wagon with a huge
tarp on top. The kids loved him because he would give you a chip of
ice to suck on and you felt like you really got something especially
in the hot summer. But this was soon replaced by the ice factory
down on Van Dyke near Nine mile. Or you could buy a block of ice by
putting money in a machine. Many people still needed them for their
ice boxes which as folks could afford them were replaced by
refrigerators. If you forgot to empty the pan under the ice box and
you walked up to it with your bare feet you had a cold shocking
surprise.

You could even work on your car in your driveway
without someone giving you a ticket. Now it is illegal to work on
your own car. Where has our freedom gone?

Some
local businesses in Center Line area in the 1950s were:

Art Grissom Motor sales 24231 Van
Dyke

Motor
City Furniture 22900 21” TV $159.95

HI
neighbor Cleaners 21708 Federal

Van Dyke
Automotive 23330 Van Dyke

Van Dyke
Clothers Van Dyke at 9 Mile Rd

Stilwell
Press 25512 Van Dyke

Rivard
Bros 20955 Van Dyke Baseline

George
Hairdresser 23522 S n of 9

John
Knapp Realty 25140 Van Dyke N of 10 Mile

Richard &
Trule Tool & Die 2751 Van Dyke

Gietzen
Service 25445 Van Dyke

Jos
Rivard Appliances & Sport Shop Gun Repair 21045 Van Dyke

Memphis
Grocery 6898 Lozier at Memphis

Dr R Paul
Zusman Optometrist 23012 Van Dyke

Tara
Drive in Van Dyke at 11 Mile Rd

Pastime
Lanes

Grosbeck
Flowers 24416 Van Dyke

Robinson
Department Store 25511 Van Dyke

CF Gibbs
Lumbar 25135 Van Dyke

Boulton
Hardware 22740 Van Dyke at Maxwell

Sunbeam
Cleaners & Laundry 24817 Van Dyke

Italian
Singing Sams Grill 5649 E 8 Mile 2blks W of Mound

Voh's
Plumbing & Heating 24650 Van Dyke

C Sway
Self Serve 26526 Mound

Flaina &
Sons Paint & Hardware 26324 John R

Hoste
Bros Electric Construction 25311 Van Dyke

E C Nolan
Co Contractors 8121 Warren Blvd

Motor
City Boat Shop 23044 Van Dyke

Jerome's
Smart Feminine Apparel 23066 Van Dyke

Warren's
Drive In

Brown
Brothers Dairy 24649 Van Dyke

Liberty
Cleaners and Tailors Dryers

Zeck's
Pharmacy 24408 Van Dyke

Ross
Barber Shop

Margaret
Lawrence Hair Stylist 24445 Van Dyke

Center
Market 25504 Van Dyke

White's
Laundry 25619 Van Dyke

Metlers
Delicatessen 26312 Van Dyke

Western
Auto 24809 Van Dyke

Lazoen
Hay & Feed 25945 Van Dyke

Van's
Pharmacy 25501 Van Dyke

Ford &
Killeen Funeral Home 25531

And in
the 1950 there was a real sense of community and caring. Most people
treated each other with respect. Families did things together. It
seemed that even most teenagers were respectful. Crime was very low.
All in all the 1950s were a pretty good time to live.

Warren
had just become a city and continued tremendous growth in
population, building, job growth and in expansion of infrastructure.
New homes were built. New streets were created. GM was growing and
expanding creating thousands of jobs. The automotive industry was
growing and with it many new tool and die shops located in the
Center Line area. With all of the new jobs, building and population
growth many new stores restaurants, service businesses and fast food
places located in Center Line.

Center
Line may have been the fastest growing community in the United
States.

There was tremendous economic growth. Center Line
became much more urbanized.

Constant
change in Center Line

The
Center Line area is in a constant state of change with new buildings
and businesses replacing old ones.

Perhaps
we can learn from the "good old days" and apply it to the
future for a better life for all. Perhaps we can have again
Clean Air, Peace, Justice, The spirit of community and good ice
cream.

Warren Township
Supervisors

Samuel Gibbs 1837-1838

John Barton 1839

Henry Lorraway 1840

John Barton 1841

George Bolam 1842-1845

Alonzo Haight 1846

George Bolam 1847-1848

Alonzo Haight 1849

John Beebe 1850-1853

George Corey 1854-1856

George Bolam 1857-1859

Louis Groesbeck
1860-1862

Joseph Daconnick
1863-1864

Louis Groesbeck
1865-1866

Charles Groesbeck
1867-1870

Louis Groesbeck
1871-1878

Paul Lefevre 1879-1886

Jacob Hartsig
1887-1897

Julius Lefevre
1898-1902

Jacob Hartsig
1903-1904

Ferdinand Grobbel
1905-1914

Jacob Hartsig
1915-1917

Ferdinand Grobbel 1918

Bernard Wolf 1919-1921

Edward Jacob 1922-1925

Franck J Licht
1926-1931

Frank Wiegand
1932-1935

Chris Bristow 1936
(Died June 1936)

William Strich 1936
(appointed)

Frank Wiegand 1937

William Strich
1938-1939

Frank Wiegand 1940

Earl Tallman 1941-1942

Two year terms begin

Earl Tallman 1943-1946

William Strich
1947-1948

Arthur J Miller
1949-1956

Warren Township Clerks

Alonzo Haight 1837

Daniel Denison
1838-1839

George Corey 1840-1841

Loring Hawley
1842-1848

George Corey 1849-1851

William Groesbeck
1852-1853

Louis Groesbeck
1854-1856

Charles Groesbeck
1857-1860

Francis Groesbeck
1861-1864

N Hollister Brown
1865-1866

William Enright 1867
Removed by Township Board 11/12/67

John W Kingscott 1867
appointed

John Kaltz 1868

John W Kingscott 1869

Royal Jenny 1870

John Kaltz 1871-1872

George Adair 1873

Paul Lefevre 1874-1877

Henry Miller 1878-1883

Jacob Hartsig
1884-1886

John Kaltz 1887-1898

Frank wiegand 1899

George Schuster 1900
resigned May 3, 1900

John Buechel 1900
appointed

John Buechel 1901+1903

Otto Jacob 1904

John buechel 1905-1921

John wiegand 1922-1924

Irvin Keppleman
1925-1932

John Buechel 1933-1935

William Lawson
1936-1942

Two Year terms follow

Hildegarde M Lowe
1949-1956

Warren township
Treasurers

Alonzo Haight 1839

Loring Hawley
1840-1841

Avery Denison 1842

Cornelius Tehan
1843-1845

Samuel Jones 1852

Loring Hawley 1853

Joseph Jobin 1854

Prosper LaDuke 1855

Frederick Wacker 1856
failed to qualify

William Hartsig 1856
appointed

William Hartsig
1857-1858

Arnold Harwood 1859

John W Kingscott
1860-1861

John Wordhoff
1862-1866 resigned Sept 1866

Peter Rotarius 1866
appointed

Peter Rotarius 1867

George H Brinkers 1868

Louis Hartsig
1869-1871

Martin Hoffman
1872-1874

Vincent Tremble
1875-1877

Matthias Hoffman
1878-1879

Joseph Rinke 1885-1886

Julius Lefevre
1887-1888

Joseph Rinke 1889-1890

Ferdinand Grobbel
1891-1892

Julius Lefevre
1893-1894

Francis Miller
1895-1896

George burr 1897-1898

Edward Peck 1899-1900

Jacob Hartsig
1901-1902

Peter Schoenherr
1903-1904

Michael Smith
1905-1906

William Hartsig
1907-1908

Edward Peck 1909-1910

Joseph Trombley
1911-1912

Alex Koehler 1913-1914

Otto Jacob 1915-1916

John Rinke 1917-1920

Anthony Kaltz
1921-1922

Theodore Henkel
1923-1924

A. C. Lyons 1925

Joseph Wiegand 1926

William Qualman
1927-1928

Edward Jacob 1929-1930

Henry Kuhn 1931-1932

David Smith 1933-1935

Frank Licht 1936-1940

Frank Wiegand
1941-1946

Two year terms follow

Frank Wiegand
1943-1946

Ralph Hartsig
1947-1948

William A
Shaw 1949-1956

Mayors
of Center Line

Mayors of Center Line

The first mayor was Dr. Russel E.
Lynch. 1935 - 1942. Who brought your historian into the world.

R. L Isbister 4/6/42 4/1/46

J. L Eisele 4/1/46 4/5/54

A. G. Hazen 4/5/54 4/4/60

J. L Eisele 4/4/60 4/6/64

S. Okros 4/6/64 12/30/68

P. J. Tranchida 1/13/69 11/3/81

M. A. Zielinski 11/3/81 11/8/93

L. J. Nardi Jr. 11/8/93 11/4/97

M. A. Zielinski 1997 - 2009

David Hanselman 2009

Did
the water in Center Line actually burn?

The water
from some wells had some natural gas in it. I remember lighting a
match, hearing a woossh and seeing a brief flash of fire. When a
test drilling was done for the Center Line Park Tower at 10 Mile
Road and Van Dyke natural gas came up the drill hole and as a
volunteer in the Fire Department at that time I remember that we had
a tough time getting it out. Several people died in the village when
natural gas got into their homes. And there were reports of
buildings exploding back in those old days. Now a foul smell is
added to the natural gas we use. But the pure natural gas has no
odor and is very dangerous. Never smoke around wells.

The area
that is now Center Line area was thousands of years ago a tropical
swamp, and tropical like jungles with huge plants that eventually
formed millions of barrels of gas and oil that are currently below
us now.

Can history lead to stimulating questions that can
alter today’s world? Try this single example. In 2003 nearly
100,000 barrels of oil came from a well site in Macomb County. This
proves there is oil under us. But the profit is being given away to
a private Canadian company rather then benefiting citizens of Macomb
County. Why are we paying high prices for gas and oil when we are
sitting on millions of gallons which the citizens of Macomb County
own?

In 1928 at
a cost of $297,000 water service from Detroit was started in Warren.

Great
depression Joblessness

Just after World War I
Michigan's industries were doing fairly good especially the
automobile. But other industries suffered cutbacks particularly
mining and agriculture. European markets for American food
contracted and domestic demand dropped. Michigan Farmers were hard
hit. “The economic depression which stifled farmers during the
1920s spread like a pall over the entire economy of the state.”
(John Kern 51) Then the stock market crashed in October 1929 which
precipitated a slump in productivity which lasted until World War
II. (Kern 52)

Back at that time the
Banks had a large percentage of their assets in mortgages and bonds
that had become worthless. Government officials ordered bank
holidays/

Farm families could
survive by eating the food the could not sell but industrial workers
suffering an unemployment rate of 50% with no unemployment
compensation were starving and losing their homes and apartments.
The average Center Line family was hard hit by the depression. They
had to do without things because they did not have funds to buy
them. Some families had trouble buying necessities such as food
because of lack of income which was not their fault. Many of us
older folks heard stories from our grandparents about the terrible
times they went thru.

There was a change in
attitude by many people that now allowed for the facts that in these
more modern times it sometimes happens that people lose income
without it being their fault and sometimes cannot find jobs because
jobs are not available.

The predecessor to
Detroit mayor Frank Murphy had been recalled because he used mounted
police to disperse unemployed workers with clubs when they
demonstrated near Detroit's City Hall. Murphy served hot meals to
unemployed men at local fire halls and opened an abandoned warehouse
to shelter the homeless. He and other mayors asked President Hoover
for help but were refused. This led to the election of Franklin
Roosevelt who provided economic assistance. He started a Civil Works
Administration which employed a half a million Michigan workers on
public works projects like building of restrooms and other buildings
in parks, train stations, housing, roads, planting trees around the
state, etc. It worked it provided jobs which got the economy going
again. “Government, labor, and business worked together with
volunteers and troops during the first half of the 1940s.”
(John Kern 57)

The government created
thousands of jobs thru The Civilian Conservation Corps camps
recruited unemployed youths to work at projects. Many projects were
completed that benefited the public such as reforestation projects,
cleaning streams, building parks, constructing roads etc.

Can it happen again?
The whole country was affected by the Great depression of the
1930's. Joblessness was very high. This hit everyone very hard. Most
people just had to do without a lot of things they were used to.
Banks closed. President Franklin Roosevelt instituted several
programs to help get things going again. The WPA Works Progress
Administration program provided public jobs. Many people benefited
from these.

1920 There were still
no good roads in the community. No I am not being negative. They
were dust bowls when dry and seas of mud when wet and they smelled
from the animal manure. There was little planned drainage so there
were lakes where roads were sometimes. Van Dyke, paved with crushed
stone, was both rough and dusty. Ten Mile Road was a narrow one
track dirt road which was practically impassable in the spring.
Nevertheless, people from the city as well as retiring farmers were
attracted to the community by the convenience of church and stores
with transportation to Detroit. They made their homes here and
Center Line grew.

Mail

The first post route
was established in 1801. In 1804 first post office opened in
Detroit. In 1820 the second post road was established between
Detroit and Mt Clemens via Pontiac. The mail was carried by in
saddle bags by horse and rider. To Saginaw in 1823. In 1828 postal
route between Fort Gratiot at Port Huron and Ann Arbor. The first
mail carried on wheels was from Detroit to Ohio in 1827. (Farmer
p880) The mail was carried on horseback, by stage coach, by boat,
and by train.

Mt Clemens deliveries
started in 1821.

The mail usually
arrived on just one day in a week. For example the Mt Clemens mail
arrived by Saturday at 7 PM. In 1836 it took 14 days and nights to
send a letter to New York City. In 1843 it was down to nine days.
Except in winter. Postage ranged from six cents for under 30 miles.
to 25 cents for over 450 miles. 1851 postage was dropped to 3 cents.
(Farmer p880)

Telegraph line to
Saginaw in 1863. p885

1838 the Pontiac &
Detroit RR went out of Detroit out 12 miles in the direction of
Pontiac. The first engine was the Sherman Stevens was used in 1839
before that horse drawn cars were used.

There were very few
horses for private use until the 1840’s. (Farmer p887)

First public stage
from Detroit to Mt Clemens started in 1822.

1912- Village delivery

1930 Mail to house
delivery.

In
1900 the population of Warren Township was 2567.

In
1920 Warren had 23 businesses.

Automobiles

The invention of the
automobile affected the daily life of twentieth-century Americans
more than any other technological development. At the center of this
change was Michigan, which became the nation’s automobile
capital less than twenty years after the “horseless carriage”
made its first appearance. On March 6, 1896, Charles King became the
first Michiganian to operate a gasoline-powered “horseless
carriage” when he drove his four-cylinder vehicle several
blocks down Woodward Avenue in Detroit. Later that year, Detroit’s
Henry Ford and Lansing’s Ransom E. Olds drove their horseless
carriages. Within a few years, the lightweight, inexpensive Curved
Dash Olds became the first automobile to be manufactured in any
significant

numbers. 5,000 by
1904. Olds also stimulated other Michigan manufacturers.

Henry Ford
experimented and sold several models before the famous introduction
in 1908 of the Model T. Ford's idea was to make a car for everyone
that would be durable, easy to operate, economical to maintain, and
simple to repair. The car, which only came in black, boasted a four
cylinder, twenty-horsepower engine that reached speeds of up to 45
miles per hour. In 1908 5,000 were made and sold for $850. With the
introduction of the assembly line at the Highland Park plant in 1914
a quarter of a million Motel T fords were produced and sold for $490
each.. Two years later the output was over half a million sold for
$369. (Kern46) Over fifteen million Model Ts were sold, making it
one of the most important cars in automobile history. Some were even
used on farms for tractors.

In 1908 Flint’s
William Durant founded the General Motors Company. Offering
Americans a range of vehicles,

General Motors became
the world’s largest producer of automobiles by the 1920s.
Several other car manufacturers sold cars: Hudson, Packard, Buick,
Chevrolet, Dodge and others.

Women
Get Right to Vote

After a
lot of work women finally won the right to vote in 1920. The
Michigan state constitution was amended to give women the right to
vote in 1918 and in 1920 the 19th amendment to the US
Constitution gave them the right to vote nationally.

Electricity
began coming in in Warren and Center Line about 1930.

Detroit Edison was
granted permission to set up a house numbering system in 1931.

With increasing
population the local home wells were beginning to not keep up with
water demands. Also the local system of private out houses and
septic tanks was just not suitable to an urban setting. Working with
county officials a drainage district was formed and Warren tied into
the nine mile sewage drain to carry sewage to Lake St Clair. Water
service from the City of Detroit began in 1928

Gerald Neil noted in
his history that there were 2449 votes for repeal of the 18
amendment and 193 votes against its repeal. He states “Within
two months twenty beer and wine licenses were granted by the
Township Board.

1930 ten percent of
workers now held clerical jobs and 95% of these were women.

1930 Birdseye first
frozen foods marketed.

1930-45 movie industry
at its peak. Liberty Movie theater in Center Line

1930 Women in the
American workforce: 24,8% of all women; 50.5% of unmarried women;
11.7% of married women.

1946 microwave oven
invented but not in most homes until 30 or so years later.

1950 automatic washing
machines in common use.

The local paper was
the Star Reporter published by Dorothy and Ray Holmes.

Later the Tri City
Progress came in. It had a Green cover.

Later this was
superseded by the Macomb Daily.

What
did we do without the idiot box?

You could go on
picnics. The Air was clean then not polluted like it is now. (We
also didn’t have thousands dying of pollution as we do now.)
You could see for miles. We went to the country and rode horses. We
went on hay rides. Many of us went camping in tents. The campgrounds
were clean then and not crowded. We swam in clean lakes. We went
canoeing on clean rivers that had edible fish. We went on train
rides that went almost everywhere. You could take a train across the
whole USA then. They were not crowded. Wonderful window seats for
everyone. Sleeping cars. Dining Cars. Vista Dome cars and best of
all Dining Cars where you could enjoy nice food and see wonderful
scenery. You could ride Steam powered trains. You could leave your
stuff on the train and not worry about anyone stealing it. Looking
out the window one could see forests, farm fields, farms, farmers
working their fields, dairy cattle, brooks, wild animals like bear,
turkeys, quail, pigeons etc. We enjoyed reading interesting books.
And wonderful steam boats. We traveled on the Detroit Cleveland
boats. The boat the Greater Detroit was a marvel to travel on. It
had fine dining, cabins, music, and those huge steam engines which
were a wonder to behold. Or one could just relax and watch the
interesting scenery as one traveled the big rivers. Some of these
boats had big side wheels that propelled them like the Greater
Detroit. My grandfather took me to Put-in-Bay where I learned about
Admiral Perry. I loved those boats. There were live bands that
played real music you could sing or dance to. Sometimes there was a
stiff breeze coming at you from the bow as the huge platform
streamed across the water while the band played in the background.
When that big whistle sounded you jumped and the other boats would
reply with their whistles. There was good food and dancing in the
aisles. I loved watching the big steam engine run in the center of
the boat. Big pistons powered those huge rods which turned a huge
propeller shaft. There were huge fork like things that rode on the
propeller shaft. Never did figure out what they did. There were the
trips to Bob-lo island and the amusement park there with rides and
attractions for everyone. Then the fires of the old boats burning in
Lake St Clair as they were being torn down for scrap.

We had forth of July
parades and picnics at the city parks. There were band and orchestra
concerts on a platform next to the Warren Township hall on Van Dyke
and 11 Mile which was a dirt road. There were several local bands.
American Legion, and the Warren Community Band were two. Later as
schools became bigger school concerts would also be presented. Of
course local schools had foot ball games and other sports. . We went
to great churches and saw beautiful stained glass windows and
listened to really great organs. Food was great. We visited the
State Fair saw the animals and agricultural things, rode the rides.
And you didn't have to worry about getting robbed or mugged there
unlike in later years if you visited anyone in Detroit. As a boy I
entered my Angora rabbits into competition and won a blue ribbon.
That got me in to the fair for a week free. My mother displayed the
wool items she had spun on her spinning wheel. We went to the Cat
and Dog shows. My cat won a blue ribbon also.

Summer time was circus
and carnival time. We had lots of fun riding rides and seeing the
circuses. Local band concerts were common. Sometimes they were
farmers bands, or Community bands or school bands.

We went to the Belle
Isle Conservatory to see the beautiful flowers and plants. We
visited the aquarium. We heard the carillon play the bells. We went
to Band concerts where the Detroit Symphony played. We watched the
freighters go by us on the Detroit River, Visited the lighthouse and
the Children’s Zoo. I loved the Scott fountain at night with
all of the pretty lighting. It was safe then. You didn’t take
your life in your hands as you do now on Belle Isle or now in
Detroit which is known as The Murder Capital of the USA. My daughter
was hit by a car there and they even stol her drivers license. When
I came to help the police told us to just tow the car as soon as we
cjould ane not stay around. Then the Police stated that they don't
even stick around to make reports in this neighborhood and took off
without making a report. Hundreds of innocent people have been
murdered in Detroit. Something about the culture there. That is why
tens of thousands of white people left Detroit. It wasn't race, it
was the crime, danger and low morals. We went canoeing there also
but I liked the Au Sable river better except that there were no
porcupines to chew on your oars at night and no bears to defend
yourself against. And we made a lot of trips to see other places. We
loved to travel in our car. There were big amusement parks nearby
also. I liked to fly so decided to start working on my pilot’s
license. I loved flying as it was a wonder world up in the sky,
beautiful scenery, flying thru the clouds, over then, under them and
one didn’t even have to keep ones eyes on the road or hands on
the wheel. I loved to set the plane up so it would fly itself and I
could enjoy the beautiful scenery. I remember in my five flying
trips across the Atlantic Ocean seeing the curvature of the Earth
the magnificent cloud formations, the beautiful Earth below. The
Earth is really a space ship. Spaceship Earth, and it has no
lifeboats. We must take care of it and preserve it for future
generations.

The
good old Days

Ice-cream cups and
cones were 5 Cents. Pop bottles were 2 cents. As a boy I just had to
round up 3 pop bottles to get an Ice cream. Now days it takes 10 or
more cans. Something is wrong now when both spouses working can’t
support a family at a level that just one dad working an average job
could in the old days.

In 1950 many people
went fishing. I want fishing with my grandfather. We caught Perch. I
was taught how to clean them and cook them. We ate fish that we
caught. The water was pure and the fish were safe to eat unlike now.
We went fishing in the lakes. I remember going fishing on lake St
Clair both summer and winter on the ice. We did not own a freezer
but rented a frozen food locker at the frozen food locker place
located in a store on Van Dyke and Menge. just south of 11 Mile.

In 2004 the government
warned us again not to eat fish from Lake St Clair and other Great
Lakes as the water is still polluted and the fish contain poison.

The Korean War also
cost local lives.

The Township was
becoming less and less rural and more urban with manufacturing
industries popping up and outside industries moving in. During World
War II, the Tank Arsenal (the "Arsenal of Democracy") was
built. There was a trailer city at 11 mile and Van Dyke. There were
Quanset huts around. GM Tech Center started in 1949, which used 330
acres out of 1000 acres of GM owned land in the center of Warren.
The GM Tech Center employed over 20,000 people.

In
1950 Warren when became a charter township the population was about
43,000.

In 1952 a bond issue
was passed to build a sewage treatment plant and install sewers.

The early 1950s
locally in Warren looking over the area: The wilderness which had
existed for centuries was gone. One could still see both dirt and
paved roads and lots of farmers fields used for crops and the
raising of livestock. Warren Village was still rural. But along Van
Dyke a building boom was continuing. The farmer’s fields were
gone. A huge tank plant and many related buildings had been built in
the 1940s. The United States had been drawn into World War II in a
big way. Being located near Detroit and on a railroad line Warren
was an excellent location for a needed tank plant. The building of
the Warren Detroit Tank Arsenal in the 1940s created hundreds of
jobs. New housing had been built. Such as Cramer Homes, Center Line
Gardens on Mound and a trailer park city near 11 mile road and Van
Dyke. I remember looking across the area and seeing fields nearly
everywhere we went in Center Line . Developers turned the farmer’s
fields into subdivisions as the demand for housing increased. Weier
farm on Bunert road was not affected and continued farming.

Most grocery stores
were small family owned places like Frank Peck at Chicago and Mound
roads and they were owned by Americans not foreigners. The biggest
ones in the area was A&Ps. And the gas stations were owned by
Americans and you got serviced free. When you pulled into a gas
station a man came out pumped your gas, cleaned your windows checked
your oil all at no extra charge. They did not rip you off like the
foreign owners and corrupt corporations do today.

In the
1950s

Warren population had
increased greatly and the area had become urbanized. Farms had been
replaced by subdivisions. The current paved roads were built. With
the building of the roads also went drains and water and gas mains.
Big drains were built to handle the runoff from the street and
housing drains.

More electric, water
and gas utilities were installed. More telephone poles and services
were installed and later improved in a constant cycle of
improvement.

What did we do in the
50s? Things then were mainly family centered. The Father worked, the
mother took care of the home with the children helping. They ate
meals together. In the evening the black and white television
brought in decent entertainment. America had a love affair with the
automobile. And then there were the cars. Wonderful cars. Wow how we
loved to cruise around. We would go to Ronnie’s drive in on
Van Dyke or to A&W for root beer which was made of real
sassafras not some imitation. There were car hops that came to your
car and took the order. Later they placed your order on a tray that
attached to your car window. If you wanted more service you flashed
your lights. And there were drive in movies where you parked your
car and looked at a big screen. Sometimes people were snuck in in
the trunk. Most people had their windows down but some cars had
their windows up and the windows were all steamed up inside. In the
winter they even had in car heaters. When it got to cold we went to
several of the theaters in the area. Center Line had the Liberty
Theater with its $8,000 organ, The Motor City Theater was on Van
Dyke at Nine Mile (Later it became a skating rink), There was the
Nortown at Seven Mile and Van Dyke, The Ryan at Nine Mile and Ryan
by the Bear creek and many others. We saw How the West was won on a
screen that seemed to wrap all around us. Wow what great memories.
There were lots of bowling allies in Center Line and Warren.

There were several
bowling alleys in Center Line . The one at Nine mile and Van Dyke is
still there. Ma Zotts on Van Dyke was next to one also. We went to
local band concerts and band concerts on Bell Isle. We went on
cruses on the BobLo boats and The Put in Bay

We went to metro beach
and to parks such as the little roadside park up M53 by Romeo.

Homer Hazelton’s
drug store had an ice cream parlor as did many others.

Each year the dirt
streets were treated with something to keep down the dust.

More and more streets
were being paved with cement.

This
time is now referred to as BG

(before
Google). People went to the local libraries to get information.

Has the
economy of abundance replaced the economy of scarcity?

Also what
a shocker the USA is not interdependent with other countries.

You asked for it was
on TV. Soupy Sales was on at lunch time with pies in the face clean
but korny for the kids. There was a pool parlor Johnny’s
recreation on Van Dyke.

There were several
carnivals through out the warm months and we could see Ringling
brothers Circus at the State Fair Grounds where there was a huge
Stove almost as big as a house. We couldn’t miss the State
Fair which had many things of interest. And they did not gouge you
for parking and everything else as they do now. It is probably to
pay for all of the security. Things got so bad in Detroit they
called it Murder City and now it is so bad that they have to have
police officers ride on the buses to protect the children from the
low moral non law abiding brutes there. Thousands of people moved
out of Detroit not because of race but because of crime and break
ins. My teacher's 12 year old boy was murdered at Cobo Hall for 27
cents of pocket change. Children in Center Line don't need police
officers to protect them on our school buses because we have decent
law abiding citizens.

Scout troops did good
deeds for the community and presented good moral values to kids.

The recreation
department had activities for all ages.

All over Center Line
sidewalks were being installed, and municipal services had to
increase due to population demands. Edison set up an office on Van
Dyke between 10 and 11 mile roads and exchanged light bulbs for
free. The old taverns became modern bars and there were a lot of
bars in Center Line . There were more bars than churches.

New stores and
businesses replaced old as a rural community became urbanized.

1950 Television
overtakes radio and movies in popularity.

Also a multitude of
other improvements were made.

1950 Women in the
American workforce: 29% of all women; 46.3% of unmarried women; 23%
of married women.

One could have
chickens, with fresh eggs, rabbits or other live stock without
someone coming by and giving you a ticket.

The milk men also made
his rounds using their special trucks. There were Twin Pines and
Sealtest Dairys..

Gerald Neil stated
about Warren “During the early 1950’s it became known as
the largest, most heavily populated, and wealthiest township in the
United States.”

The first major
factory in Warren was Rotary Electric Steel, later Jones and
Laughlin, was located on Eight Mile Road just east of Mound Road
where we watched the steel being poured then formed into big orange
hot blocks.

Soon Carboloy Company
open on 8 Mile Road.

Warren high was opened
in 1951.

1952 Korean armistice
signed (July 27). The Cold War increased.

South Macomb Community
College was founded in 1953. It started with 22 teachers in rented
rooms at Lincoln High School.

1954 First atomic
submarine Nautilus launched (Jan. 21).

Dr. Jonas Salk started
inoculating children against polio.

1959 Detroit water was
piped in and Buechel's old general store from 1854 was demolished to
make way for the new St. Clement Church.

Until the
late 1940s the ice man still brought ice in a big horse drawn wagon
with a huge tarp on top. The kids loved him because he would give
you a chip of ice to suck on and you felt like you really got
something especially in the hot summer. But this was soon
replaced by the ice factory down on Van Dyke near Nine mile. Or you
could buy a block of ice by putting money in a machine. Many people
still needed them for their ice boxes which as folks could afford
them were replaced by refrigerators. If you forgot to empty the pan
under the ice box and you walked up to it with your bare feet you
had a cold shocking surprise.

You could even work on
your car in your driveway without someone giving you a ticket. Now
it is illegal to work on your own car in your own driveway. Where
has our freedom gone?

You could look up at
the sky then and see the milky way and most of the stars. Now there
is so much extraneous light in the sky that one has to go way out in
the country at least fifty miles from any city in order to see the
milky way. And you could see hundreds of shooting stars during
meteor showers.

The Korean War also
cost local lives. .

In 1955 the Nine Mile
and Federal fire hall was built followed some time later by the fire
hall on Twelve Mile Road by Hoover.

Police protection
which had been under County Sheriff moved to Warren Township control
in 1950.

In 1956 the population
had increased 63,000. This was probably putting more demands on the
charter township system than it was designed to handle. People
wanted better service that a city type of government could deliver.

October
27 1956 The Township of Warren was incorporated as the City of
Warren

as the citizens of
Warren Township had voted to replace township government with the
city form of government. In 1956 Gov. G. Mennen Williams signed the
charter making Warren a city. It actually began operations as a city
on January 1, 1957. The treasurer was only paid 14,000 a year.

Gradually the roads
and sewers were improved, new public buildings built, more fire
stations built, fire equipment purchased and staff hired. Also a
multitude of other improvements were made. The Van Dyke, Mound and
Sherwood had the most industrialized growth. The first major factory
in Warren was Rotary Electric Steel, later Jones and Laughlin, was
located on Eight Mile Road just east of Mound Road. A lot of tool
and die shops opened as the automotive industry took off.

Gerald Neil stated
“During the early 1950’s it [Warren] became known as the
largest, most heavily populated, and wealthiest township in the
United States.”

During the 1950s, the
number of service workers grew then surpassed the number of workers
in manufacturing. By 1956, more workers had white-collar jobs than
blue-collar jobs.

Warren high was opened
in 1951.

So from the 1940s to
the end of the 1950s Warren went from a farming community to the
richest urban township in the country with the leading design
complex for the leading company in the world, and a major defense
facility, and its own community college and Michigan’s newest
city. And in the next ten years it would double its population and
its industries.

Local
businesses in the Warren Area

See Wesley Arnold's
Who’s Who of Businesses which is a separate book and much
more detailed.

Banks; Warren Bank had
several offices. Bank of Commerce also had several branches.

During and after World
War II America saw tremendous economic growth and was the world's
richest country. Americans felt united. Most people conformed to
their group norms. The 1950s may have been the most conservative in
our history. It was known as the American Decade and it was filed
with a lot of optimism.

Most men worked and
supported their families, and most women took care of the home and
children. Children went to school, and most graduated. Then they got
a job, got married and had kids unlike later years in which the
order was often different...

Most people that
wanted one had a job. Cars were works of art, and each model year
was a new beginning. We loved our families and our cars. Drive-ins
were a place to drive your car in and eat or to see a movie. Some of
the movies were: War of the Worlds,

Invasion of the Body
Snatchers, Because TV was so popular the movie theaters were taking
a beating and even tried 3D to lure in customers. But TV became the
baby sitter for millions of children and adults. It affected the
culture. For the most part in the 1950s it had clean decent
entertainment and showed good moral values.

TV

Back then
TV had all decent programs. You did not see lesbians making love on
daytime TV, or a man ripping off a womans bra during prime time, or
cartoons bragging how great it is to set a teachers clothes on fire
or hundreds of immoral acts displayed weekly poisoning our
children's minds as they do now. Granted they did have cigarette
commercials. Do you remember “Outstanding and they are mild.”

On the Black and white
TV was Zorro, "Davy Crockett and the River Pirates".

Highway Patrol was a
very popular television series. TV Westerns 1957 Colt 45 Tombstone
Territory Restless Gun Hawkeye and the Last of the Mahicans Man
Without a Gun, Dick Clark’s Bandstand, Milton Berle, Ted
Mack's Original Amateur Hour Your Show of Shows, Perry Como Show
Colgate Comedy Hour Your Hit Parade Jack Benny Show People Are Funny
George Gobel, Show Arthur Godfrey Ed Sullivan Dinah Shore Lawrence
Welk, Red Skelton, Lassie. Everything good clean decent and best of
all with good moral values for the children. Some say we are reaping
what we have sown with higher crime rates and more teenage
pregnancies.

Mickey Mouse Club,
Remember: Who's the leader of the club That's made for you and me?
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E! Now's the time to say goodbye To all our
company Through the years we'll all be friends Wherever we may be
M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E Mickey Mouse, Mickey Mouse Forever let us hold
our banner high M-I-C - See ya real soon! K-E-Y - Why? Because we
like you! M-O-U-S-E!!

Also on TV were lots
of cigarette ads For example, The dancing cigarette packages or
Camel’s cigarettes had one a popular slogan “Not a
Single Case of Throat Irritation Due to Smoking Camels.” some
of the most popular cigarette slogans of the 1950’s. Marlboro
slogan read “The Filter does not get between you and the
Flavor.’ As to “Outstanding and they are mild.” It
was Pal Mall

A popular Lucky
Cigarette Slogan reads, “Light up a Lucky, it’s time to
light up.” Or tear and compare. A popular Camel Slogan “For
more pleasure have a Camel.”

One that a lot of
people will remember “Taste Good like a Winston Should.”

LSMFT Lucky Strike
means Fine Tobacco. There were other versions of that also. :-)

“Your Voice of
Wisdom says Smoke Kent.” But also in the 50s doctors began to
notice a correlation between smokers and lung cancer. About ten
years later cigarette advertising was banned from television.
Advertising jingles proliferated, Rice-A-Roni - The San Francisco
Treat! Olly Fretter “I’ll give you a pound of coffee if
I can’t beat your best deal. Mr. Belividere’s “We
do good Work!”

45 records came into
use on the record players or on the Hi-Fi which was not stereo. Much
of the music of the 50s was Feel Good Music

Popular Music: Leroy
Anderson, Montovani , Sinatra, The Kingston Trio sang “This
Land is Your Land,” “Where Have All The Flowers Gone?”
and “Scarlet Ribbons.”

Ray Charles inventor
of Rhythm & Blues sang "Night Time Is the Right Time,"
"What'd I Say" and "Hit the Road, Jack." There
were also strange but funny songs like “Found this great big
box The Thing”

Fads: teenage jargon
like groovy baby, there were hula hoops and coonskin caps spurred on
by the TV series Davy Crockett. In the late 1950’s instant tea
became popular.

Burger King, hardies,
Dunkin' Donuts began spreading throughout the country.

TV news had: Edward R
Murrow, anchor, Fred W. Friendly and Edward R. Murrow, producers,
Edward R. Murrow who for seven years Murrow, broadcasted with
cigarette smoke swirling about him. And there was John Cameron
Swayze (1948-1956), Remember the Timex commercial “Takes a
lickin but keeps on tickin” and Chet Huntley (1956-1970),
David Brinkley (1956-1979), and Dave Garroway's famous signoff of
"Peace." Later our beloved Walter Cronkite (1962-1981) As
Cronkite always said in his signature closing, "that's the way
it is..."

Burma Shave signs
lined the roads. Within this vale of toil and sin your head grows
bald but not your chin. She kissed the hairbrush by mistake. Thought
it was her husband Jake.

Remember when
computations were done with slide rules not computers or
calculators.

Bottles had to be
opened with a bottle opener.

The Korean War began
when North Korean Communist forces invade South Korea (June 25
1950). Color television introduced in U.S. but many families
continued to use their black and white sets.

The Army's Jupiter-C
rocket fired first U.S. Earth satellite, Explorer I, into orbit
(Jan. 31, 1958). and the St. Lawrence Seaway opened, allowing ocean
ships to reach Midwest (April 25, 1958). This opened the door for
inexpensive foreign imports direct from other countries which thirty
years later would result in hundreds of jobs lost in Warren.

For a conservative
decade a lot was accomplished. For the people of Center Line there
were big changes. Warren shifted from an agricultural society to a
manufacturing society and started the shift to a service based
society. Information and knowledge increased greatly. Warren went
from rural to urban and from a charter township to a City. Family’s
evenings went from reading to watching television. This began
another great revolution in the young. More about that in the 1960s.

Some local businesses
in Warren area in the 1950s were:

Art Grissom Motor sales
24231 Van Dyke

Motor City Furniture
22900 21” TV $159.95

HI neighbor Cleaners
21708 Federal

Van Dyke Automotive
23330 Van Dyke

Van Dyke Clothers Van
Dyke at 9 Mile Rd

Stilwell Press 25512
Van Dyke

Rivard Bros 20955 Van
Dyke Baseline

George Hairdresser
23522 S n of 9

John Knapp Realty 25140
Van Dyke N of 10 Mile

Richard & Trule
Tool & Die 2751 Van Dyke

Gietzen Service 25445
Van Dyke

Jos Rivard Appliances &
Sport Shop Gun Repair 21045 Van Dyke

Memphis Grocery 6898
Lozier at Memphis

Dr R Paul Zusman
Optometrist 23012 Van Dyke

Tara Drive in Van Dyke
at 11 Mile Rd

Pastime Lanes

Grosbeck Flowers 24416
Van Dyke

Robinson Department
Store 25511 Van Dyke

CF Gibbs Lumbar 25135
Van Dyke

Boulton Hardware 22740
Van Dyke at Maxwell

Sunbeam Cleaners &
Laundry 24817 Van Dyke

Italian Singing Sams
Grill 5649 E 8 Mile 2blks W of Mound

Voh's Plumbing &
Heating 24650 Van Dyke

C Sway Self Serve 26526
Mound

Flaina & Sons Paint
& Hardware 26324 John R

Hoste Bros Electric
Construction 25311 Van Dyke

E C Nolan Co
Contractors 8121 Warren Blvd

Motor City Boat Shop
23044 Van Dyke

Jerome's Smart Feminine
Apparel 23066 Van Dyke

Warren's Drive In

Brown Brothers Dairy
24649 Van Dyke

Liberty Cleaners and
Tailors Dryers

Zeck's Pharmacy 24408
Van Dyke

Ross Barber Shop

Margaret Lawrence Hair
Stylist 24445 Van Dyke

Center Market 25504 Van
Dyke

White's Laundry 25619
Van Dyke

Metlers Delicatessen
26312 Van Dyke

Western Auto 24809 Van
Dyke

Lazoen Hay & Feed
25945 Van Dyke

Van's Pharmacy 25501
Van Dyke

Ford & Killeen
Funeral Home 25531 Van Dyke

And in the 1950 there
was a real sense of community and caring. Most people treated each
other with respect. Families did things together. It seemed that
even most teenagers were respectful. Crime was very low. All in all
the 1950s were a pretty good time to live.

Warren had just become
a city and continued tremendous growth in population, building, job
growth and in expansion of infrastructure. New homes were built. New
streets were created. GM was growing and expanding creating
thousands of jobs. The automotive industry was growing and with it
many new tool and die shops located in the Warren area. With all of
the new jobs, building and population growth many new stores
restaurants, service businesses and fast food places located in
Warren.

Warren may have been
the fastest growing community in the United States.

There was tremendous
economic growth. Warren became much more urbanized.

Even more rapid growth
occurred in the 1960's. There were many new industries and
businesses established and Warren became the industrial center it is
today.

Between
1960 and 1970 the population doubled.

1960 Warren population
90,000

1960 More than 34% of
women over 14 were employed for wages. Just 10% of wage-earning
women were farmhands or servants. Among married women, 31% worked
for wages. .Women in the paid American workforce: 34.5% of all
women; 42.9% of unmarried women; 31.7% of married women.

1960 Birth control
devices in the U.S. were widely used. Women discovered that they did
not have to have 14 babies. The population rate leveled off.

All of the farms
succumbed to urbanization except two. They were Palico's and the
Bunert Weier farm on Bunert located located near Warren’s
growing Macomb Community College. For a while it even looked as if
that would fall also but the Bunert-Weier Woods was bought by the
college and the farm remained a historic landmark cut down in size
but still in the hands of the original family. The land had all been
subdivided but Ida Weier and her family bravely continued some
farming and still had some live stock. They had guinea hens and red
bantams and offered fresh eggs to local residents. When I visited
Fred Weier in 2006 he still had the red bantam chickens. The Bunert
Farm is one of Warren’s real treasures and simply must be
preserved. (Read the story of Warren’s first cemetery, which
was located behind the Bunert Farm, and how it was destroyed.) Fred
died in 2009.

During the 60s,
rock-and-roll came in. The Beatles became an overnight sensation in
America in 1964 when their album "A Hard Day's Night" sold
one million copies in only a few weeks.

Unemployment 3,852,000

Life Expectancy: Males
66.6 years, Females 73.1 years

Auto deaths were 21.3
per 100,000.

About 850,000 "war
baby" freshmen enter college; emergency living quarters are set
up in dorm lounges, hotels and trailer camps.

The movement away from
the conservative fifties continued and eventually resulted in
revolutionary ways of thinking and real change in the cultural
fabric of American life.

The Games People Play
-Eric Berne

There was more
interest in consumer protection because of Unsafe at any Speed by
Ralph Nader.

ADS & FASHION FADS
Youth predominated the culture of the 1960's. The post World War II
Baby Boom had created 70 million teenagers for the sixties, and
these youth swayed the fashion, the fads and the politics of the
decade. California surfers took to skateboards as a way to stay fit
out of season, and by 1963, the fad had spread across the country
Slot cars overtook toy trains in popularity.

COSTUMES
/ FASHION

Crew cuts on men were
common as were men's plaid casual shirts. Knee-length dresses were
required wear for women in most public places followed a few years
later by, miniskirts or hot pants. Men's hair became longer and
wider, sometimes with beards and mustaches. Men's wear trended to
bright colors. Turtlenecks were popular.

By the 1969 ties, when
worn, were wide. Bell bottomed jeans were worn by some.

The Vietnam War was
one of the only wars in history where the men who fought for their
country were not greeted as heroes when they returned

Great strides in civil
rights were made especially for blacks.

The number of Hispanic
Americans tripled during the decade and became recognized as an
oppressed minority. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was amended to
include gender. The birth control pill became widely available. The
Supreme Court decided in Engel v. Vitale, 370 U.S. 421, 1962, that
prayer in the public schools was unconstitutional

In 1962, a spy plane
identified long range missiles in Cuba. President John F. Kennedy
readied troops to invade Cuba, and the Soviet Union prepared to fire
at US cities if we made a move.

1961 - Peace Corps
created by Pres. Kennedy

John F. Kennedy was
assassinated in 1963. To prevent communist North Vietnam from
overtaking South Vietnam, the United States sent military advisors
and then soldiers. It was largely a secret war until 1965, when
massive troop buildups were ordered to put an end to the conflict.
The draft was accelerated and anti-war sentiment grew in the US.
College students organized anti-war protests, draft dodgers fled to
Canada.

Alan Shepard, became
the first American in space in 1961. In 1963, John Glenn was the
first American to orbit the earth. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin,
in Apollo XI, were the first men to walk on the moon in 1969. The
surgeon general determined that smoking was a health hazard, and in
1965 required cigarette manufacturers to place warnings on all
packages and in all ads. the first artificial heart in a human, and
it kept the patient alive for three days until a human heart could
be transplanted.

People became more
concerned with their health and their environment. Rachel Carson's
Silent Spring awakened the environmental movement and the Sierra
Club gained a following.

MUSIC In
1960

Elvis returned to the
music scene from the US Army, joining the other white male vocalists
at the top of the charts; Bobby Darin, Neil Sedaka, Jerry Lee Lewis,
Paul Anka, Del Shannon and Frankie Avalon. The Tamla Motown Record
Company came on the scene, specializing in black rhythm and blues,
Bob Dylan helped bring about a folk music revival, along with Joan
Baez and Peter, Paul & Mary. The Beach Boys began recording
music that appealed to high schoolers. The Beatles, from England,
burst into popularity with innovative rock music that appealed to
all ages There was a major change in popular music in the
mid-1960's, caused in part by the drug scene. Acid Rock, highly
amplified and improvisational, and the more mellow psychedelic rock
gained prominence. The musical phenomena of the decade was
Woodstock, a three day music festival that drew 400,000 hippies and
featured peace, love, and happiness...and LSD.

Many of
us loved Peete Seiger, Arlo Guthrie, Peter Paul and Mary and Simon&
Garfunkle.

By the end of the
decade, popular music was also using synthesizers and other
electronic devices.

Sex became more
explicit, in movies and on TV. Six James Bond Movies, including Dr.
No, From Russia With Love, and Gold finger, combined sex and
violence and were enormously popular. Previous taboos on sex,
violence and language, were ignored, resulting in the need for a new
film code by the MPAA.

Radio continued to be
the primary means of listening to music although FM radio became
more popular due to better quality. Chubby Checker introduced the
twist in 1961 and dancing became an individual activity.

Television offered the
second prime time cartoon show, the Flintstones , in 1960. (The
first was Rocky and his Friends in 1959.) It appealed to both
children and adults and set off a trend that included Alvin &
the Chipmunks , the Jetsons , and Mr. Magoo. The Andy Griffith Show
was a good decent show that was very popular for most of the 1960s.
The Beverly Hillbillies heralded the first sitcom. Other shows were
Bewitched, The Addams Family, My Favorite Martian , I Dream of
Jeannie, Star Trek, Twilight Zone, Rowan and Martin's Laugh In.

In the Movies: James
Stewart was a popular actor in The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence
(1962), How the West was Won (1962), Shenandoah (1965) and The
Flight of the Phoenix (1965). Also Fiddler on the Roof, My Fair
Lady, Sound of Music, Camelot, and West Side Story,

The Mamas and the
Papas and Simon and Garfunkel were very popular.

1963 The big
Schoenherr drain started to drain the east side of the city.

1970s

Some of Warren and
Center Line's sons died in wars.

PFC R. A. Jacobs and
others Died in Viet Nam. Many were wounded.

The population of
Warren was 179,260 Density was 5,242 average per square mile.

The city has upgraded
its building codes and has had programs of urban renewal. Sewers,
water and gas mains were installed. A City complex was built. In
1975 a new court building was completed. The I696 Freeway was built
across the middle of Warren along Eleven Mile Road and completed in
1978 Other roads were improved..

1975 MITS offered a
BASIC interpreter. This interpreter was the first product developed
by Bill Gates' and Paul Allen's new company, Microsoft. This was
followed by the Radio Shack TRS-80 1977, the TRS-80 it came with the
BASIC language so one could write their own programs. The Apple II
outsold it. VisiCalc (released in 1979 running on an Apple II) made
people look at personal computers as business tools, not just toys.

Knits and denims,
ankle-length grandmother dresses to hot pants and micro-miniskirts
were common.

The floppy disc
appeared in 1970, and the next year Intel introduced the
microprocessor, the "computer on a chip." Apollo 17, the
last manned craft to the moon, brought back 250 samples of rock and
soil. Unmanned space probes explored the moon, Jupiter, Mars,
Saturn, Uranus, and Venus.

The U.S. Apollo 18 and
the USSR's Soyuz 19 linked up in space..

Atari produced the
first low-priced integrated circuit TV games.

The videocassette
recorder (VCR) came into homes..

In medicine ultrasound
diagnostic techniques were developed.

The Vietnam War
divided the country. Crime increased. Immigration increased.

Women surpassed men in
college enrollment in 1979.

Divorce left an
increasing number of women as sole breadwinners and forced more and
more of them into poverty.

A Huge anti-war march
in Washington, D.C. occurred in April 1971.

1971 Daniel Ellsberg
leaks the Pentagon Papers, massive collection of top-secret
government documents, whose publication helps to discredit the
Vietnam War policies of the Nixon administration.

October 1973 amid
charges of corruption and scandal, VP Spiro Agnew pleads no contest
to income tax evasion and resigns from office.

December 1973 Gerald
Ford, congressman from Michigan, becomes the new vice president.

1974 Economy in worst
recession in 40 years.

August 1974 Ford
becomes the thirty-eighth president after Richard Nixon, facing
impeachment charges, is forced to resign.

April 1975 South
Vietnam falls to Communist forces of North Vietnam.

4 July 1976 The
country commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Declaration of
Independence with a spectacular bicentennial celebration.

March 1979 Radioactive
leak at Three Mile Island nuclear power plant.

November 1979
Iranian militant students seize the U.S. embassy in Tehran capturing
66 hostages and setting off an intense standoff that lasted
444-days.

Television came of age
in the Seventies as topics once considered taboo were broached on
the airwaves for the first time. Leading the way was the humorous
social satire of All in the Family, which had plots on many
controversial issues such as abortion, race, and homosexuality.
Saturday Night Live also satirized topics and people once thought of
as off limits for such treatment, such as sex and religion. Nothing
was considered sacred. Television satellite news broadcasts from the
front lines of the conflict in Vietnam continued to bring the
horrors of war into the homes of millions of Americans and
intensified anti-war sentiment in the country. The immensely popular
TV miniseries Roots fostered an interest in genealogy, a greater
appreciation of whites for the plight of blacks, and an increased
interest in African American history. Happy Days, which followed the
lives of a group of fifties-era teenagers, was TV's primary nod to
nostalgia, while The Brady Bunch comically presented the
contemporary family. The relatively new publicly funded Corporation
for Public Broadcasting gained viewers and stature with such fare as
Sesame Street for children, and live broadcasts of the Senate
Watergate hearings.

Brady Bunch and the
Watergate Five. Presidential privilege, pardon, and peanuts. Earth
Day and the EPA. Peace with honor, Big Mac with fries. Bell bottoms
and halter tops. Walking on Earth Shoes. Running on empty.

Within the realm of
science and energy, the defining events of the 1970s were oil
shortages: first in 1973, then again in 1977. Waiting in long lines
for short supplies, many Americans realized for the first time how
central a role energy plays in the good life ... and how vulnerable
some forms of energy are to political vagaries. Thus began, after
the Mideast oil embargo of 1973-74, a rush to diversify America's
energy base and to reduce U.S. dependence on imported oil.

Conservation,
meanwhile, thrived on the decade's energy austerity

Even more rapid growth
occurred in the 1960's. There were many new industries and
businesses established and Warren became the industrial center it is
today.

Between
1960 and 1970 the population doubled.

1960 More than 34% of
women over 14 were employed for wages. Just 10% of wage-earning
women were farmhands or servants. Among married women, 31% worked
for wages. Women in the paid American workforce: 34.5% of all women;
42.9% of unmarried women; 31.7% of married women.

1970 Women in the paid
workforce: 41.6% of all American women; 50.9% of unmarried women;
40.2% of married women.

Plastic replaced glass
bottles and even most paper packaging.

More and more things
were being designed to be throw away items.

The city upgraded its
building codes and has had programs for urban renewal. Sewers, water
and gas mains were installed. A City complex was built. In 1975 a
new court building was completed. The I696 Freeway was built across
the middle of Warren along Eleven Mile Road and completed in 1978
Other roads were improved..

1980s

The Vietnam Veterans
Memorial was constructed and listed 57,939 American soldiers killed.

The 1980 population
of Warren was 161,134 with an average density of 4,684 persons per
square mile.

In the home often both
parents worked more hours for less money. Divorces rose. There were
more single parent families.

Some families bought
the new minivans which largely replaced station wagons.

1980 Women in
America's paid workforce: 51.5% of all women; 64.4% of unmarried
women; 49.9% of married women.

Personal computers
came into common use in the home. Radio Shack TRS 80, Commodore Vic
20 & 64, Amiga, Texas Instruments 99, Sinclare, Apple and with
them video games became very popular. TV was the most popular form
of entertainment and VCRs began being used. The ethical and moral
standards of TV programming was lowered. Children were being exposed
to excessive sex and violence and even pornography. Scientific
studies later showed that this was harmful to children. And the
American people reaped what they had sewed as teenage pregnancies
and violent crime rates tripled since 1960. More and more unmarrieds
were living together often fathering children and leaving it up to
the welfare to support them. The prisons could not hold all of the
persons arrested and prisons started releasing felons back on the
streets. Crack cocaine appeared in 1985 and cocaine addiction was up
35 percent. It was so bad that president Reagan had to declare a war
on drugs, and Nancy Reagan started a “Just Say No”
campaign.

There also was a
growth in social consciousness in recent years. We appear try to
take better care of poor and handicapped. But we are failing to
properly do so. General assistance was cut to people without
children. So if you were a working man without kids and you worked
for forty years and brok your leg you could get no help from the
state except for food stamps.

Also the mental
facilities were emptied out putting dangerous persons on our
streets. And some people died.

Health: Life
Expectancy: Male 69.9 Female 77.6. many people died from AIDS.
Hospital costs rose, The first Artificial heart was implanted.
Research was done on cancer, diseases and genetics research.

Economy was fueled by
credit card buying. Many people spent well above their means.

There was with
double-digit inflation, in the early 1980s and unemployment rose.
But for some people income climbed more than 20 percent,

Business IBM in
business.

Science and technology
made many advances. Columbia, the first reusable spacecraft in 1981.

The Old Tank 147-acre
Arsenal area was giving way to stores and condos.

In the early 2000s
Michigan lost over 400,000 jobs. It had the highest unemployment in
the USA. 37% of Michigan children are in low income families.
Thousands do not have adequate medical care. The federal government
has chosen not to give extensions to the unemployment benefits
dooming many of us including this historian to choosing between
medicine and food. The republican led congress has also voted not to
raise the minimum wage while they have given themselves several
raises. We have young people and young families leaving the state to
find work elsewhere. Big corporations have often chosen to lay off
local workers in favor of farming out work to China and India.

America
in the 2000s

2000 Government begins
recording of everyone’s Internet use and telephone
conversations without public knowledge. Remember the book by George
Orwell called 1984 about Big Brother. Big Brother began spying on
all Americans.

American technology
was being given away to foreign interests or stolen. Often this
happened because of the Internet.

2000s Center Line
began to lose jobs. The automotive business was being sent overseas.
Parts and other things were increasingly manufactured in other
countries. It was impossible to buy as TV set, camera, VCR, DVD
player or consumer electronic device that was manufactured in the
USA.

With the exporting of
manufacturing went the off shoring of jobs.

By 2007 Michigan
had lost 400,000 jobs and its unemployment was the worst in the
nation.

Things were so bad
that people started to move out of the state. Even college graduates
after graduation were moving out of the state. They had to, to find
a job. Many of those who got unemployment were in the process of
losing their homes. The federal government refused to extend
unemployment benefits while members of congress gave themselves pay
raises.

2002 surveillance of
general public begun at public places using face scanners able to
search records of 160,000 faces a minute enabling government to
round up terrorists or any citizens it wants to. A federal
government program recorded all telephone and Internet usage by
individuals.

The following Acts and
EXECUTIVE ORDERS have nullified parts of our Bill
of Rights. The Patriot Act of 2001 and 2006; Because of the
Patriot act the Government could now search anyone’s home
without knocking and without a search warrant. The Military
Commissions Act of 2006 allows anyone to be arrested and takes away
your right to a hearing and trial. Because of the Military
Commissions act. Forces under government control could incarcerate
people, including American citizens, without warrant and hearing. A
program called Cable Splicer for an orderly takeover of the state
and local governments by the federal government.

FEMA is the executive
arm of the coming police state under the following Executive Orders:
they would suspend the Constitution and the Bill of Rights;
EXECUTIVE ORDER 10995 allows the government to seize and control the
communication media. EXECUTIVE ORDER 10998 allows the government to
seize all means of transportation, including personal cars, trucks
or vehicles of any kind and total control over all highways,
seaports, and waterways; EXEC ORDER 10999 allows the government to
take over all food resources and farms; EXEC ORDER 11000 allows the
government to mobilize civilians into work brigades under government
supervision; EXEC ORDER 11002 designates the Postmaster General to
operate a national registration of all persons; EXEC ORDER 11003
allows the government to take over all airports and aircraft,
including commercial aircraft; EXECUTIVE ORDER 11004 allows the
Housing and Finance Authority to relocate communities, build new
housing with public funds, designate areas to be abandoned, and
establish new locations for populations; EXEC 11921 allows the
Federal Emergency Preparedness Agency to establish control over the
mechanisms of production and distribution, of energy sources, wages,
salaries, credit and the flow of money in U.S. financial
institutions. It also provides that Congress cannot review the
action for six months. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has
broad powers in every aspect of the nation. as well as prevention of
dissident groups from gaining access to U.S. Opinion. Yes the feds
can control our freedom of the press. The SS has plans to
take over your city by suspending the powers of your mayor, city
council and to place local police under federal control. They
can remove weapons from private citizens homes. The right for
citizens to bear arms is in our Bill of Rights. It is the only way
we can protect ourselves from attackers or dictators.

Citizens
rights
to peacefully assembleunder
our bill of rights is now restricted. Permits are now required and
public demonstrations are severely limited and can be held only
where allowed. Coverage of any public demonstration can be censored
as reporters can be restricted. Your newsis now controlled
by only five major companies which can be forced to limit coverage
of any event or issue. The Internet is only partially censored now
but any site the people in power don't like can be shut down. The
Internet
is
monitored by government agencies and parts or the whole can be
censored or shut down. Your phone conversations and Internet use is
recorded. You can verify this. Just Google the government program
called Echelon.

Worse yet the
government allows organizations to collect information about all
citizens and then allows these organizations to sell your personal
information to anyone with money to buy it.

On a national level by
2008 scientific dictatorship became possible because information to
the public was no longer under local control. Segments within the
federal government were able to control media, credit card
transactions, banking, the military and there are several special
paramilitary units controlled by those in power. The American public
was not in control of the military, the media, the economy, or the
credit and banking system. Large numbers of Americans became the
working semi poor. Two spouses often had to work to support a
family.

Very large numbers of
homeowners are being foreclosed on with out recourse. Large
percentages of America's business, banks, credit companies, food
producers, and oil producers came under foreign control without the
knowledge or consent of the public. The President George Bush tried
to place the nations ports under foreign control. The government
continued compiling lists of who owns rifles and handguns. This
effectively enabled the government to disarm the American people.
The federal government also allowed huge quantities of foreign
investment (or control) of real estate and businesses. And the
federal government had allowed the technology which took many years
to develop to be given away or sold to foreigners. It has allowed
about 60 million aliens to remain in the country. Millions of these
were illegal. The federal and state governments have allowed many
companies and utilities to steal from the American people. One
example is Helliburton who has racked up billions in profit from the
Iraq war with no bid contracts by overcharging the American people.
The vice president has made millions from Helliburton prior to
taking office and hundreds of thousands from them while in office.
In summary it appears that somethings were very wrong.

Constant
change in Center Line

The Center Line area
is in a constant state of change with new buildings and businesses
replacing old ones.

Perhaps we can learn
from the "good old days" and apply it to the future for a
better life for all. Perhaps we can have again Clean Air, Peace,
Justice, The spirit of community and good ice cream.

The
Census of 2000

As of the census of
2000, there are 138,247 people, 55,551 households, and 36,719
families residing in the city. The population density is 1,556.6/km²
(4,031.8/mi²). There are 57,249 housing units at an average
density of 644.6/km² (1,669.6/mi²). The racial makeup of
the city is 91.29% White, 2.67% African American, 0.36% Native
American, 3.09% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other
races, and 2.23% from two or more races. 1.35% of the population is
Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 55,551
households out of which 27.8% have children under the age of 18
living with them, 49.7% are married couples living together, 11.7%
have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.9% are
non-families. 28.8% of all households are made up of individuals and
12.0% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The
average household size is 2.47 and the average family size is 3.05.

In the city of Warren
the population is spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 7.6%
from 18 to 24, 30.8% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.3%
who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 38 years. For
every 100 females there are 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18
and over, there are 92.1 males. There is a big change as more and
more foreigners are moving in. Often one goes to a shopping mall
where it sometimes seems that English is not spoken. One in ten
persons does not speak English at home. It appears that a vast
amount of things available for sale are no longer made in the USA.

The median income for
a household in the city is $44,626, and the median income for a
family is $52,444. Males have a median income of $41,454 versus
$28,368 for females. The per capita income for the city is $21,407.
7.4% of the population and 5.2% of families are below the poverty
line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 9.5% are under the
age of 18 and 5.8% are 65 or older. What a disgrace that thousands
of children and working parents often have to do without medical
coverage, while career criminals get the good medical coverage at a
cost of $35,000 each.

In 2004 Warren is the
third most populous city in Michigan with about 150,000 residents.

In Michigan, there are
1,459,555 families, with 2,532,110 children. 37% of them are
considered to be in low income families. 17% are below the poverty
level. According to Columbia University
http://www.nccp.org/state_detail_demographic_low_income_ MI.html

In Michigan thousands
of children do not have adequate Dental and medical care.

In 2007 in Warren
record numbers of working families were having their homes
foreclosed on. And there was also record numbers of homeless
families including children. The greedy bankers often will not work
with a family. Often they demand huge amounts. Sometimes families
could stay in their home and make the house payment but the greedy
bankers insist on huge amounts. So this forces entire families to
have to leave their home. Over 1200 homeless in southern Macomb
County alone. Many with no place to go. In southern Warren it is not
uncommon to see homeless people. On more than one occasion people on
my street have discovered homeless sleeping under trees or in
sheltered spots. Our heart goes out to them as often they have no
place to go as the shelter is full. Sometimes there are whole
homeless families with children. It is also not uncommon to see near
homeless picking thru garbage cans and dumpsters for bottles
valuables and food. The Owen Jax recreation center reported many
homeless coming there for help but the workers there have nothing to
give them. Warren and Center Line crime rates are lower than the
national average. It would have been even better but for quite a bit
of crime crossing over from 8 mile road into our city. Warren sits
on the northern boundary of Detroit unfortunately still known as
murder city. Statistics just released at the end of 2007 put Detroit
right in there with St Louis also known for its high crime rates and
murders. Crime is so bad in Detroit that they need police officers
to ride on school buses to protect the children. Warren has never
had to have police ride on its school buses because Warren is proud
to be a law abiding community.

Additional
observations by the historian:

History shows us that we should not waste resources. Look at the
lumber industry.

History shows us that we should be prepared.

Pardon the following historical observations.
Teachers are not allowed to “touch” students. But
the students often assault each other and almost nothing is done.
The teachers are afraid of the students, the Administration and
School Board are afraid of lawsuits. Many parents are now
afraid of their kids. And the kids, they aren’t afraid
of anything. Probably because they are allowed in our society
to get away with almost anything. There is little to no
punishment for misbehaving. If a parent spanks his kid in a
store the police are called and charges are filed against the
parent. As a teacher who has taught every grade level in
Center Line schools and at college level I have heard many kids say,
“My parents can’t punish me because I will call the
police and say they hit me and they will have to go to court.”
Perhaps we need to work on better parenting and holding teenagers
responsible for their actions.

Most of our ancestors
were very poor, had little or no schooling and until the 1900’s
most were not able to read or write. They lived without:
electricity, cars, fast food restaurants, TV, modern appliances like
microwave ovens, refrigerators, gas and electric cooking stoves,
washing machines, dish washers, telephones, light bulbs, flush
toilets, city water, prepackaged foods, band aids, sanitary items
and perhaps worst of all no toilet paper. However despite the
hardships they endured it appears that they appeared happier and
healthier then many people today. There were no teen age drug
problems, or teenage VD epidemic.

Parents did not have
to monitor what their teens watched on TV because everything was
decent with good morals. If you lost your wallet it would be
delivered back to your front door with everything in it. Is that
true today? What has changed? In prior times teenagers were given
chores and the parents held them responsible for doing them. The
animals had to be fed, stalls cleaned, the cow milked, butter
churned, eggs gathered. The garden had to be planted and weeded.
Even fairly young children had a responsible part in the family’s
survival. Young people learned to be a useful part of the family and
learned to be responsible. Most young people of yesteryear proved to
be responsible persons. There were hardly ever teenage gangs of
punks to rob people. And of course you never saw any gang symbols or
spray painted buildings on or spray painted freeway walls.

Not to say that
everything was wonderful. Life for most people required a lot more
manual labor. Women had to wash clothes by hand outside using big
tubs, cook from scratch often outside over wood fires using cast
iron pots. All of the wood used for heating, cooking and cleaning
had to be cut, dried and brought to the house. Of course the kids
often had the job of bringing in the wood and breaking it into
little usable pieces. Fireplaces with pot hangers were the chief
means of heating and cooking until stoves were affordable and
available. Although stoves were not available much before 1730 in
the Eastern colonies they were largely unavailable until after
Macomb County was established in 1818. Even then the pioneers often
did not have the money to have a stove shipped from out east. So the
early pioneers used open fires outside and later as they had time to
construct them inside fire places sometimes with brick openings
called ovens. If cooking was done outside imagine the hardships of
building fires in the rain, snow and wind without matches or fire
lighters. They had to use flint and steel, burning glasses or fire
drill. More often the fire was just kept going in the form of hot
coals. Although Matches were being sold around Civil War time 1860
it probably was not until after 1890 that they became more widely
available. Imagine having to cook dinner in the wind and rain. Or as
my grandchild asked me why didn’t they just put it in the
microwave?

By the way
conveniences like toilet paper although available after the civil
war did not become commonly used until after the Scott Paper Company
brought out rolls in 1890. The pioneers used leaves, grass, rags,
weeds, cattails, corncobs two reds and a white for check and later
on Sears and Robuck catalogs.

How was food
preserved? Meat was first dried and smoked. Some goods were packed
in salt water, pickled, cured, or fermented. Since there were no
refrigerators until after about 1930 ice boxes or cool cellars were
used. These relied on ice being brought in, in the winter time and
packed in sawdust or wood in a cellar usually under or near the
house. Vegetables were often dried and placed in boxed filled with
dry dirt in cellars often without any ice at all. Many vegetables
preserved very well with this method. By the late 1800’s some
people were canning with jars.

Compare our life with
that of the pioneers. Imagine laying starving on a pile of tick and
insect infested grass in a very hot or very cold make shift hut
without a door lock, in fear of a bear, cat or wolf or savage
warrior barging in and scalping you and your children. No I did not
make this up it happened here. In fact this is how many of your
ancestors lived, in fear for thousands of years. Say a thankful
prayer that we live in a time and place of peace where we can go to
bed in a bed with a nice mattress, in a heated or cooled house with
running water, utilities and appliances and have a police and fire
department to protect us and the biggest problem might be deciding
which restaurant to go to for dinner. We have a better life than any
of our ancestors and we owe it to their hard work to create a better
world for us. We should do the same for our children and
grandchildren.

Old
Interesting Events and Stories

Ma!
Ma! The cow fell into the well!

And you think we have
problems today. What would you do? There was no 911 to call. Wells
were dug for water but the problem with open wells was that both
cattle and people fell into them. In our area ten to twenty feet was
usually successful. How do you get a cow out. They had no good rope
or chains. If the cow died would the water be any good?

Grandma
and the Bear.

One day when we were
away from the cabin a bear got in and was eating our food. Grandma
did not have the gun but fought the bear with an ax. She won and we
had bear meat for quite some time.

One of the settlers
was walking in the woods without his gun and was attacked and killed
and partly eaten by a pack of wolves.

Grandma Bunert stated
they often heard the howl of wolves in the woods.

Earthquake On August
17, 1877 an earthquake scared the local horses. Some people reported
a rumble noise. We have had several minor quakes since then.

In September of 1881
another devastating fire struck the Thumb area of Michigan making
the skies dark for days. Hundreds of families lost everything and
282 died. The previous fire burned from Wisconsin to the west side
of Michigan and all across Michigan. The sky was dark for many days.

James Fouts Nov 10,
2007-Present In his first remarks he stated that this city
government will be by the people and for the people and that his
decisions would be based on what was best for the community. He
quoted President Truman who justified decisions by asking will it
benefit the average citizen.

Salaries

All Warren Township
officials in 1893 served without pay.

Township Treasurer
since 1843 got 4% of the collections as his fee.

Beginning in 1920

Supervisor

1920 Supervisor was
paid $800.

1930 3600

1931 2400

1932 10% cut 2700

Clerk

1920 the Clerk $500
per year.

1930 2100

1931 1650

1932 10% cut

Treasurer

1930 3000

1931 2400

1932 10% cut

Works
Cited and Sources

Many conversations
with old timers and their families over my 67 years is the major
source for this work

Many occurred when I
was young. I have long ago forgotten who told me what.

Web sites for Michigan
history, local churches, military history, wars and battles often
give good general background information. Just search Google for the
topic.

And visit our Macomb
County History site http://www.ole.net/%7Emaggie/macomb/

Thank
You

I would like to thank
all of those who shared historical information with me. I am in turn
sharing it with the community by placing it in book and electronic
form in the public libraries and on the website This site has many
pictures you can see. Much of the historical information came from
talking with people over a period of 67 years. I have long since
forgotten who told me what. Mike Grobbel hopefully will be carrying
on work as Center Line Historian. It appears that Wes Arnold and
Mike Grobbel were the only two people that recorded Center Line
history in the last twenty years. Of course thanks to Norm Smith for
his help, to David Hanselman for saving the LeFrance, to Gail Martin
for the historical marker work, Jack Shram for documenting
railroads,

Sincerely
Wesley E Arnold humble historian

Note: The
late Wesley Arnold's work can be seen on the web site
macombhistory.us

What
is to be learned from History?

The first thing an
impartial observer would note is that throughout history mankind has
been brutally engaged in warfare and in attacking, killing,
torturing, and brutalizing innocent persons all over this planet for
thousands of years. And it continues today around the world. It
seems that violence begets violence as groups retaliate. And this
doesn't have to be.

Many wars start with a
disagreement or misunderstanding.

Disagreements
sometimes lead to fights then to battles then to wars. If the
misunderstanding can be resolved by discussion, mediation or
conflict resolution, war can be avoided. If the parties speak a
common language, that makes it much easier to resolve issues. If not
an international vocabulary such as Esperanto could be used. (It is
not Spanish. It is the easiest to learn language)

Killing besides
causing great suffering is counter productive. There are better ways
to resolve issues than to resort to killing; and everyone benefits.
Diplomacy has many times in the past resolved issues and prevented
wars. We must be alert to take action to resolve potential conflicts
before they escalate. This can work with countries and with local
groups. But we must still be prepared to defend ourselves.

On the local side we
should teach young people to settle disputes without violence, and
accept the rule of Law and Justice as opposed to rule by brute
force. This includes teaching children to: bring no harm to another
by their actions or inactions, and to not do to others what they
would not want to be done to themselves. Young people should be
taught about the constitution and bill of rights and to live by our
laws. We need to create and foster communities where the people, the
government, the police, schools, business and the wealthy all work
together for the benefit of everyone in the community. The culture
needs to be converted to a culture of caring and responsibility.
Where all are responsible for their actions and not allowed to hurt
or kill others. Where the goal of the government is the health and
welfare of all citizens.

Good
medical knowledge saves lives. Antibiotic drugs are vital

History shows that
millions have died due to diseases we now have cures for. History
shows that when not enough medical research was done people died.
But as of now not enough new research is being done to prevent the
new super germs from killing thousands. We must encourage more
research into new antibiotic drugs. It will soon be a matter of life
or death.

Some
residents now are dying from Pollution related conditions

We need to stop
polluting our planet which is already causing thousands of deaths.
After all we live on a small planet spaceship Earth. And Our
spaceship has no life rafts.

Global warming has
been confirmed. 15,000 French people died from heat in 2003.
Glaciers are melting. Thousands of animal species are dying. World
scientists agree that it must be stopped or there will be global
climate change and millions of deaths. See the movie "An
inconvenient Truth" from video rentals.

The
electric company could pay you

Enough free sunlight
hits our planet every day to provide all of our energy needs. We
need to utilize our free solar energy by installing solar shingles
and panels, and wind turbines. They can generate enough free energy
at times to allow the electric company to buy the excess and pay
Center Line residents and companies for making electricity. And this
free energy could help power solar and hybrid electric cars. Solar
and wind energy are free for the taking and don't hurt climate.
Everyone wins.

Civilizations that use
their resources wisely do better. Using solar and wind would be
better for our economy and air.

A people
who improve their knowledge do better

In ancient times and
in recent times peoples who had discovered and used better
technology were able to succeed better against other peoples. They
have better weapons. They have better defenses. They use their
resources including people in more efficient ways. The USA led the
world in technology in the last few decades and became the most
powerful country on Earth with the best defenses. Unfortunately this
is changing due to several factors.

Foreign
Interests

Partly because of the
huge trade imbalance our government is allowing banks, credit
institutions, natural resources, companies and real estate to be
sold to Arabs, Muslims and Chinese and other foreign interests.
Foreign interests now own and control much of our banking and credit
systems. Arab owners also own the majority of local gas stations and
grocery stores and control most of the oil in the world. This is not
a good situation for our security. To discover that our mortgage
company and credit card company is possibly owned by foreigners and
that they might have control of our most valuable property and our
credit should be a wake up call to Americans.

Our
precious technology is being given away

Our precious
technology that took many years to develop is being sold and given
away.

In order to make
better profits many large companies selfishly sold or gave our
technology to foreigners which put us at risk. Now several foreign
countries have our technology and they are running with it. In
addition they placed our technology on the Internet where it could
be easily taken.

The Toshiba Company
sold technology to the Russians that compromised our secret anti
submarine technology. Now instead of having hours to respond to
submarine missile threats we have only minutes. Now Russian subs can
be in our waters able to launch missiles which we cannot stop that
can hit for example the Capitol within just a few minutes.

Other companies acting
irresponsibly have given the Chinese sensitive electronic components
which the Chinese can back engineer.

The Chinese are
excelling in back engineering and copying technology and don't care
whether it is patented or not. They copy cameras, electronics and
lots of compact disks. The Chinese are famous for selling knock off
copies of things at lower prices without regard for copyrights. They
will soon have the ability to produce most any electronic component
and device.

Peoples who educate
their young people are more successful.

Our current society is
failing to support its educationally talented youth and thousands of
our bright young people can't afford to finish college so their
skills are wasted. Education has been given a back seat in our
country for too long and we are about to pay the price big time.

China has more bright
high IQ kids than America has kids and in several other countries
such as China promising young people have their way paid completely
through college. Students from other countries are surpassing
American students with better test scores. As a result America is
losing its technology lead as other countries with better trained
minds are advancing their technology. The Chinese are training their
bright kids in advanced technology. They graduate thousands more
engineers and people with higher technology skills than we do. The
result will be that they will surpass us in engineering and
technology and defense technology in just a few years. This is very
dangerous for our defense.

The Chinese may
soon be able to negate our military.

The Chinese have
successfully sent a space ship to the moon and are also now able to
shoot down our militaries command and control satellites as proven
by their recent successful tests. Our military over-relies on
computers and satellites. The Chinese could soon negate our command
and control satellites. We have next to no soldiers to defend us on
our side against millions on this other side

The Chinese may soon
be able to surpass our economy.

For several reasons:
Because they have better education for their children than we do;
Because they have more bright children than we have children;
Because they better educate their bright youth; Because they
graduate many times more engineers, technical specialists and
scientists; Because they were given our technology and are improving
on it; Because they work cheap; Because they now have huge
manufacturing capability. Because they have thousands of operatives
living in the USA to gather more information. The Chinese and are
posed to surpass us. Don't believe it then why is it that most of
the things you find in stores including electronic equipment,
phones, radios, TVs, home entertainment, and cameras are now being
developed in other countries and even manufactured there. Within
just a few years China will surpass the United States in technology,
engineering, war technology, economics, and sales. If you doubt this
go to any big store and compare how many items are made and
engineered in the United States as opposed to those from elsewhere.
And with it go millions of good jobs AND YOUR SECURITY!

Sub
adequate education

Large numbers of our
19 year olds: have few job or vocational skills and are unemployed
or unwilling to work, don't know what the basic law of our land is,
can't properly fill out a job application, don't know what the
Holocaust was or who we fought in WWII,. Can’t find the USA on
an unmarked map of the world, have poor reading skills and some are
doing drugs and committing crimes. Many are unfit and many are
obese. It is doubtful of many of them could be relied upon to defend
our country if needed.

Vocational
Skills and Responsibility.

Young people should be
required to learn a vocational skills and responsibility. There
should be required exit tests for each grade. If not passed they
should be required to attend summer school or repeat the grade. The
community needs to do more to properly educate your young people and
to take action to prevent delinquency, mental illness and
criminality. It has been proven that current TV programs promote
violence. most kids spend more time watching TV than they do in
school. TV programmers must be made responsible for providing decent
programming. Viewers should threaten sponsors that they will boycott
their products if things are not cleaned up. We need to promote
organizations such as the Boy and Girl scouts who teach good morals,
survival and leadership.

Correcting little
problems before they become big problems

Troubled youth
uncorrected lead to problem adults. We need social workers in
schools to resolve social and behavioral problems before they become
major problems. After all a stitch in time saves nine. Many ignored
problems don't go away they just get worse. A small investment in
social workers can mean less prisons, crime and suffering in the
future. Lives could be saved also.

Cultures
who protect the rights of individuals are more successful

They do this by
establishing Rule by Law. Civilizations that treat their citizens as
resources usually grow stronger because they are utilizing the
talents of the citizens. The more citizens working, the stronger the
economy. A country with high unemployment is weaker. Unemployment is
bad for a country, bad for the people, bad for the economy and can
lead to crime. Unless there is a way for a family to get food they
may have to steal it if survival depends on it. If you were starving
and your kids starving you will do anything to get food. If there
are rich people there with lots of food they will become targets.
This what has inspired many revolutions and wars.

Countries that
distribute the wealth throughout the citizenry do better than those
that allow just a few wealthy persons to share in it. When the
wealthy abuse the citizenry the country suffers. Examples from today
compare North and South Korea. In the north people do not have
rights or property and they are starving and uneducated. Only a few
selfishly control the wealth. As a result the country is poor and
backward. In the south wealth, knowledge, freedom, the economy and
its wealth is shared. Result a dynamic prosperous country.

In the US many selfish
leaders and CEOs are busy filling their own pockets and milking
companies at the expense of the American people. Companies like
Helliburton (my spelling) are given no bid contracts by government
officials who have an interest in this company. Helliburton has made
billions in profits off the Iraq war and ripped off the American
people by charging EXORBITANT prices. Check out the website
http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/ You will be shocked. Something is
seriously wrong. Seems like conflict of interest. Seems like
treason. Ask Dick Cheney how he can justify his profiting thousands
of dollars from the war from Helliburton. Meanwhile the government
allows US companies to export our jobs and our hard earned
technology to other countries against the best interests of the
American people. They pour billions into the sewer of Iraq but take
money from poor Michigan which lost over 400,000 jobs and yet denied
thousands of us laid off persons unemployment benefits. This has
caused many workers, who worked a lifetime, to lose their homes in
record numbers. Something is seriously wrong with this picture. If
one one-thousandth of the millions that went unaccounted for in Iraq
had been spent to upgrade Center Line 's economy the people of
Center Line would have benefited greatly. There is a large class of
Americans who used to be middle class but are now part of the
largest growing class in America the forgotten class of those living
from paycheck to paycheck just barely above poverty. This has
happened because of the greed of the rich. The American dream is
almost dead. Especially in Michigan which finds its young people
moving out of the state in record numbers. I am a college professor
and a large percentage of my students plan to leave Michigan after
graduation.

The
more a country allows foreign interests, control parts of it the
weaker it becomes.

Persons who let
someone else control their bank and credit accounts may be in for a
shock Would you loan someone you don't know your credit card? Is it
wise to allow foreign interests to buy American banks, credit card
companies, key businesses and ports? It is possible that the persons
doing this are getting paid off to do so. Why did President Bush try
to give control of our ports to foreign powers? Seems like conflict
of interest and treason to me. On the day I wrote this China refused
to let two minesweepers shelter from a storm in the Hong Kong port.
Yahoo News Nov 30, 2007.

Countries that survive
do not bring aliens in great numbers to live amongst them. This is
just asking for trouble. Cities that survive don't leave the gates
of the city open and unguarded or bring in Trojan horses inside the
gates of the city. The Trojan horse was a large statue that was
thought to be a gift from a defeated enemy so it was brought into
the city. Later that night soldiers hidden in the statue snuck out
of the statue and opened the city gates allowing the enemy army to
rush in and conquer the city. Our boarders are in many cases wide
open. We have about 60 million aliens in our country with millions
more coming in yearly. (Over 10 million in the last few years) They
use our resources, take our jobs, and demand that we print things in
their languages because they have not learned English. Some bring in
diseases and foul practices like female castration. They often do
not practice birth control and many come in pregnant causing us to
give them medical and hospital services at the American public
expense. In addition their children born here become American
citizens so are entitled to welfare at public expense

Some have many
children and some go on welfare and are supported by the American
welfare system. I saw several cases like that when I was a social
worker for the state. They apply for free lunch programs at the
schools their children attend. Meanwhile they send money out of our
country to support their relatives in foreign countries. They
sponsor as many of their relatives in foreign countries as they can
and bring them in to America. One in five persons does not speak
English at home. In southern and some western states it is now one
in three. Most of these folks do not have any loyalty to America.
They are only here to make a better living. They still love and are
loyal to their native country which is not the USA. They usually do
not renounce citizenship in their native country. I went to the mall
the other day and it seemed like I was in a foreign country. There
seemed to be only foreign languages spoken wherever I went. Many of
them refuse to learn English fluently. They form groups then cheat
Americans Example: the Arab oil interests and oil companies and the
foreign owners of gas stations and grocery stores where they charge
higher prices for gas and food. They are ripping us off on gas
prices. Why don't we charge them more for what they buy from us?
Example raise the price of wheat we sell to them. Why is our
government allowing us to get ripped off but are giving away our
products in fair trade agreements? Who is looking out for us
Americans?

When it comes to
defending our country their loyalties really show. Few of them
enlist in the armed forces. Many are still loyal to their own native
country. Arabs are loyal to Arabs, Muslims to Muslim interests. We
cannot count on this huge part of our population to defend us.
Furthermore they are not really Americans with American values. They
often treat their women like slaves and take the law into their own
hands. They often form their own private ethnic groups and sometimes
the young form gangs.

On the other side of
the coin Immigrants are the history and salt of America. Many have
contributed much to America. The problem now is that the floodgates
are open and too many are coming in resulting in the destruction of
our America as we know it. Millions are illegal and have little
respect for our laws. Among the 60 million aliens are many foreign
operatives and Muslim terrorists. They have been brought up to give
their lives so that they can be a martyr by killing innocent people
including women and children. They think they will go to their
heaven where they can have many virgins even if they kill many
innocent people in the process. Example: the Muslim terrorists who
slit the throat of a stewardess or who flew a plane into the World
Trade Center killing 3000 innocent people. We need to deport these
and all of the illegals. We need to demand that as a condition of
them becoming a citizen that they learn English fluently, abide by
our laws for at least ten years first, learn our history and what
our country stands for, renounce all allegiance and citizenship in
all other countries and take an oath to support our country, abide
by and support its constitution and be a loyal citizen.

Planning
is more fruitful than thoughtlessness.

We need to properly
plan our cities to provide for all citizens. Cities should be
beautiful places to live not what we have now. There should be
adequate parks and beautiful areas for recreation. There should be
adequate housing for all citizens. There is a special need for lower
cost housing for seniors and the poor. If enough is not available in
the private sector than the government should build more. This can
be done with the nearly free service labor as described below. This
housing should be equipped with solar shingles and wind power
generating equipment to reduce costs.

Most cities could have
underground weather resistant efficient subways. They could be built
by free service labor and powered by solar, wind hydro and thermal
to reduce costs. These could easily and efficiently and with
pollution free electric trains go to most locations in most cities.
They could also be constructed to also carry people between cities
at low cost. This would greatly reduce pollution and traffic on
surface roads. Imagine being able to just walk just a short distance
to the entrance then relax and read the morning paper or a book or
listen to music on headphones on the way to work. No traffic,
weather or parking frustration. Because it is solar, wind, thermal
and hydro powered and used by all it should be free.

Many of
the common things we use were not even invented until recently and
then it often took many years more before they were available to the
average person.

Clothing
in general for men consisted of shirt, pants, waist coat, shoes
and long stockings. Women wore a long undershirt called a
chemise covered by a waistcoat and long skirt. A work apron
and bonnet completed the wardrobe. Boys and girls both wore
dresses until older. By the way underwear was usually not
owned or worn until about the middle 1800’s. It was not
uncommon for babies and children to be wearing only their birthday
suit. Herbs were rubbed on for mosquito repellent. Children
and men often swam in the nude. Babies were sometimes nursed
in tandem and on demand. More clothing was of course worn in the
winter time. Most people had two changes of clothing.
One for every day work and the other for Sunday and dress up
wearing. The clothing was not usually fancy just functional.
Fancy dress clothing appeared later in Center Line. The population
was anything but rich and could not afford fancy clothing.
They were farming people tied to the running of the farm and with no
place to go even if they had fancy clothes. But they did have
their shindigs. They had plowing bees, quilting bees, picnics,
singins, in addition to the Sunday church services.

Compare
our life with that of the pioneers. Imagine laying starving on a
pile of tick and insect infested grass in a very hot or very cold
make shift hut without a door lock, in fear of a bear, cat or wolf
or savage warrior barging in and scalping you and your children. No
I did not make this up it happened here. In fact this is how many of
your ancestors lived, in fear for thousands of years. Say a
thankful prayer that we live in a time and place of peace where we
can go to bed in a bed with a nice mattress, in a heated or cooled
house with running water, utilities and appliances and have a police
and fire department to protect us and the biggest problem might be
deciding which restaurant to go to for dinner. We have a
better life than any of our ancestors and we owe it to their hard
work to create a better world for us. We should do the same
for our children and grandchildren.

What's
with the lack of windows?

Nearly
all of the rooms in the schools had windows. Even the rest rooms had
frosted windows and at least one that could be opened for
ventilation.. At first the schools did not have or need
electricity. But later when they did , it did not matter if
the power went out as teachers could still teach and children could
read and write fine with the light that often came in from more than
one direction. Sorry to report that in this historian’s
viewpoint the architects now days do not design school buildings for
practical use. Daylight is free. Most new schools ignore
this. Why not at least have skylights above inside rooms.
Why not have light coming from both sides like Center Line High
School which won an award for its architecture. This historian
went to school there and at Busch school and we never had a problem
reading when the power went off. If the power goes out for
even just a few minutes now days, they shut down the school.
The school bath rooms today have no windows and little ventilation
and crime is so bad in today’s schools that bathrooms even the
teachers are often locked. Even teachers are assaulted now
days. I know of a substitute teacher that almost died when a
student threw a heavy steel bar at him just missing his head.
The teacher had refused to give them two lunch periods and insisted
that they do the work assigned by the regular teacher. Teachers now
have a tough job just maintaining discipline.

What has
changed in our culture that bathrooms have to be locked?

Pardon
the following historical observations. Teachers are not
allowed to “touch” students. But the students
often assault each other and almost nothing is done. The
teachers are afraid of the students, the Administration and School
Board are afraid of lawsuits. Many parents are now afraid of
their kids. And the kids, they aren’t afraid of
anything. Probably because they are allowed in our society to
get away with almost anything. There is little to no
punishment for misbehaving. If a parent spanks his kid in a
store the police are called and charges are filed against the
parent. As a teacher who has taught every grade level in
Center Line schools and at college level I have heard many kids say,
“My parents can’t punish me because I will call the
police and say they hit me and they will have to go to court.”
Perhaps we need to work on better parenting and holding teenagers
responsible for their actions.

Can
history lead to stimulating questions that can alter today’s
world? Try this single example. In 2003 nearly 100,000 barrels of
oil came from a well site in Macomb County. This proves there is oil
under us. But the profit is being given away to a private Canadian
company rather then benefiting citizens of Macomb County. Why are we
paying high prices for gas and oil when we are sitting on millions
of gallons which the citizens of Macomb County own?

Efficient underground
weather resistant, safe shopping malls perhaps some with senior
housing and hospitals could also be constructed with free service
labor in our cities People could easily reach these by the subways.
They would be a steady temperature year round because of being
underground. Shoppers would not have to worry about snow, ice,
traffic, wind, tornadoes and parking.

Locals that do better
grow their own food.

Having to import food
puts a strain on the economy. Local grown food is less expensive as
it does not have to be transported at great expense. Local food is
usually more nutritious because it is not raised on a bulk food
farms who use chemicals and tricks to increase production. Local
production of food bolsters the local economy and is safer because
you know where your food comes from. Local production means some
fields and farms in the local area which is good. Young people can
work there and all learn how food is produced. Kids learn how to
take care of farm animals. People gain a better understanding of
what it takes to grow food. With new technology Warren farms can
grow more food in less space. Hydroponic greenhouse methods allow
food to be grown year around.

Historically Warren
was self sufficient in its own food production

Warren was self
sufficient in growing food in the past. We need to be cautioned
against too much dependence on foreign grown food. The technology is
there to improve safe local food production. Well insulated
greenhouses and fish farms could produce good local food that costs
less because it does not have to be transported thousands of miles.

Warren
and Center Line jobs going overseas

Many American
companies in the name of their own selfish profit are sending jobs
overseas. Even GM is exporting hundreds of jobs out of Warren to
overseas. Why is it that? The USA was the leader of the free world.
It is a sad fact that America is falling behind in education,
technology, economy, and manufacturing. Better education and
planning can help reverse this.

Better vocational
training and job placement needed

Social history shows
us that unemployment has harmful effects on families, the community
and the economy. The unemployed should be given the opportunity for
vocational training and job placement. If no private sector jobs are
available let them be temporarily placed in public service in their
new vocation. This would give them experience and take them off of
welfare roles. People working are bolstering the local economy and
paying taxes. A win win for everyone.

Vocational training
that benefits all

History shows that not
properly educating youth leads to poverty and social problems. We
should provide our young people with decent opportunities for
vocational training and practical education in and after high
school. This might be accomplished by having a "National
Voluntary Vocational Training and Service Corps." This could be
something like the Peace Corps which President Kennedy started. A
young person could be given help in selecting a vocation then be
given the training. They would be required to perform a period of
time in practicing their vocation as a public service as part of
their training. This is one form of free service labor to the public
good and benefit. Everyone benefits. The student gets a skilled
occupation and the ability to earn decent income. Society benefits
by utilizing its youth and from the services they provide. The
working person working in a good vocation pays more taxes than an
unemployed or unskilled person and over time the program pays for
itself and bolsters the economy in the process. It is another win
win for everyone.

Threat
to one is a threat to all

We need to recognize
that, in a way, a threat to one is a threat to all. Felon killers
let back into our society often kill again. This is historic fact.
Psychotic killers should not be returned to society where they can
kill others. Criminal killers should lose their rights to live in
our society.

History shows that
where societies don't punish serious crimes with certainty of
punishment in a timely manner and with enough severity to make it an
example for others motivate them to not commit the crime, that crime
will continue and worsen. But Rule of law must be enforced. And
those who will not live by it must be banished. We must stop
coddling killers and repeat criminal offenders. They don't deserve
to live at our expense at over $35,000 a year with free medical
care, weight rooms, legal advice, room-apartments and conjugal
visits. Jail is too good for them. Non violent criminals should be
put to work on construction projects, road repair, clean up, and
vocational work-training. The public would benefit from this free
service labor and the inmates would learn an occupation rather than
learning to be career criminals.

Muslim terrorists have
killed over 8000 of our people in the last few years and much of the
Middle East supports them. They seem to get a lot of pleasure in
killing innocent people and women and children. They even put
children in vehicles that are going to be blown up. Their Muslim
upbringing has taught them it's OK to kill innocent people including
women and children. In fact they specialize in killing as many
innocent people as possible. Need an example look at what they did
on 911. Think about the children in the day care center and the
pregnant women. They select on purpose public places filled with
innocent people and set off bombs designed to put out pieces of
metal so as to kill and injure as many people as they can. Their
religion has taught them that by doing this they will spend eternity
playing with numerous virgins. If you disagree with my statements
here I invite you serve our country in the military like us veterans
did. Imagine what it is like having to pick up the pieces of your
best friend who was just helping neighborhood children or families
and put his bloody body parts and brains into a body bag like many
of us vets had to do. Or don't you have the guts to do it. We tried
to help save their country and our reward was to have thousands or
our young people murdered by them. Regarding terrorist sympathizers
if in doubt leave them out. We can't afford to have them here where
our families are but some are here already and so are their
sympathizers. We must increase efforts to hunt down and kill
terrorists. One veteran painted his van in red white and blue and
painted "Get Osama" on its windows. Osama is the master
mind muslim murderer terrorist who planned the 911 attack killing
about 3000 innocent people including children. Thousands want him
brought to justice because he inspires others to continue to kill
innocent women and children around the world.

Unfair
Burden

It seems to many of us
veterans that it is extremely unfair to dump repeated years of war
duty (such as in the case of Iraq) on family persons that enlisted
in the National Guard and were told that it was just for local duty
in times of disaster. About 4000 of them have died (over 200
casualties) from Macomb county. It seems so unfair to have to bear
this burden alone repeatedly when there are many strong young people
on the streets learning instead to sell drugs, pimp and do drugs and
party such as in Detroit and other cities. (I was a social worker
there.) Why should some people have to be repeatedly be sent into
killing combat and others get to dodge their responsibility
entirely. It is the responsibility of every young man to serve his
country at least for a year. Yet it seems that many don't have the
guts to do it. The time is coming when everyone may be needed to
help All youth should be required to learn about and serve in
defense of our country.

People
who are irresponsible often cause suffering to others.

Responsibility should
also be taught in families and in schools. People should be held
responsible for their actions. Courts should hold offenders
responsible to pay for damages they cause. This needs to be extended
to cover white collar crime, cyber crime and management crime. In
cyber crime someone steals your identity runs up your credit cards
and cleans out our bank account. They have destroyed the lives of
about 9 million Americans. When caught jail isn't good enough for
these criminals they should be made to work and pay back every cent
they took from you.

Multimillionaire
managers and CEOs are allowed to rip off companies and workers then
allowed to retire in luxury in their multiple million dollar homes
while the workers they stiffed and cheated out of their jobs and
pensions grovel to eke out a bare survival existence. This is
criminal. Looked what happened with Kmart and AT&T. where top
management got millions in benefits and milked the company dry
hurting workers. Many Warren residents were affected. This is anti
American people and we need to take action to stop this and to make
those responsible pay us back.

Crimes
not adequately punished lead to more crimes.

I had to work all of
my life so why do criminals get free support, excellent medical
care, legal and library services and don't even have to work for it?
At this time it costs taxpayer about $35,000 a year to coddle each
criminal. This is unacceptable. Criminals should have to work like
the rest of us.

They should have to be
required to do jobs that need to be done around the state. (Many of
us feel that jail is too good for repeat criminals who have
committed hideous acts such as raping and killing babies, deliberate
killing of innocent people, chain murderers etc.) The more hardened
ones would need to work only under strict supervision. They could
work within the prison growing food and installing solar panels and
wind power generating towers to make the prison self sufficient and
less costly to operate. They could manufacture needed items. The
prison system could sell prisoner made products to help support the
prison. The nonviolent ones which are the great majority of inmates
could then provide free service labor such as road repair,
construction and clean up. They could under guarded supervision
build senior and low income housing which is direly needed in many
places. They could install solar shingles and wind power generators
on public and private buildings and construct solar panels in waste
areas. This would greatly help our countries energy problems. They
could construct mass transit tunnels which are needed all over this
country. Again we have to work all of our lives why should we have
to support inmates. Let them work to support themselves. All this
would pay for itself down the road in savings to citizens and the
American people. All this would benefit the country, the citizens
sand even the inmates. Another win win for everyone.

There
needs to be swift certain and adequate punishment to deter future
crimes.

If we don't it is
possible that uncontrolled violence can happen here to us as it has
in the past to others here. For example some neighborhoods just to
the south of Warren were law abiding decent nice neighborhoods. Then
a different group of low moral non law abiding character moved in.
They caused those neighborhoods to become dangerous places to live.
Gunshots are heard daily, gangs entrap young people. The
neighborhood hero there isn't the US soldier home on leave but
rather the neighborhood pimps and drug dealers who drive their
Cadillacs. In fact a soldier fresh from combat duty was killed there
while home on leave. Anarchy still rules in some of these
neighborhoods today. You can't have anything valuable in your house
because there are too many breakins. We hear of firemen getting shot
at while putting out house fires in these neighborhoods. EMS medical
staff gets assaulted while trying to save lives. It isn't even safe
to walk or live in these neighborhoods. Thousands fled Detroit in
past years and many continue to do so, not because of race but
because they fear for their lives and property. Detroit is a high
crime city and was known as "murder city.” Many people
were assaulted and killed there. Our Center Line band teacher's 12
year old son was killed at Cobo hall at a school band concert in a
robbery. The Robber killed him for under a dollar in pocket change.
As a social worker who worked in Detroit I can testify to dozens of
assaults on innocent people in Detroit neighborhoods. Cars are
stolen often there. Teachers and students are assaulted in the
public schools. Most of the students drop out of the schools there
before graduation. Many don't even learn how to read to grade level.
The public schools there are a national disgrace. Nearly all of the
businesses there and many homes must have bars on the windows and
doors. Still today in Detroit a lot of criminal behavior goes
unpunished. There is a code of silence not to tell the police who
did a crime. Witnesses are afraid to come forward because they fear
for their lives. Not all areas of Detroit suffer from this savage
uncivilized culture which abandons their own children. Note I stated
culture not race. Even the Indians did not abandon their own
children. It is the uncaring attitude that is the problem which
leads to a culture of uncaring men. Human actions are a matter of
personal choice not race.

These low moraled men
have given Washington DC the worst HIV epidemic in our country.

According to a report
on Reuters News Nov 26, 2007 the Capital has severe HIV epidemic. I
quote reporter Maggie Fox:"Washington, D.C., has the highest
rate of AIDS in the United States, and more babies are born with the
AIDS virus in Washington than in other U.S. cities ...Washington,
has a rate of 128 AIDS cases per 100,000 people in 2006, compared
with a national rate of 14 cases per 100,000. The city accounted for
9 percent of all pediatric AIDS cases in the United States during
2005.. Of the 12,428 people infected with HIV in Washington, 80
percent are black, the report found. More than 8,300 had fully
progressed to AIDS and 224 died of AIDS in 2006." Note: How
ignorant because HIV is a totally preventable disease. Human actions
are a matter of personal choice not race.

Center Line has a much
better and safer and healthier culture. Our crime rate is low. We
created the finest schools in the state. Those of us who live on the
southern edge of Warren do need to be vigilant and prepared to
defend ourselves if necessary.

Code
of Conduct Needed

Citizens of this
planet should agree to a code of conduct and to be bound to certain
laws as a condition for citizenship in "civilized" areas
of this planet and that those who flagrantly violate that code of
conduct should be marked and banned from civilized areas. Example:
Muslim terrorists who are willing to kill innocent people including
women and children in public areas so that they can go play with
virgins. Many are not insane, that is their belief and what they
have been taught. They are a threat to our families now and they
must be removed from our country now. 7000 of our people have
already died. Must more die before we take action? Human actions are
more a matter of personal choice than religion. We should not
condemn all Muslims for the actions of a few. But what do we do with
those who really believe that they will go to a heaven with virgins
for killing innocent women and children and are planning to kill?

As for Code of Conduct
perhaps the best are as follows: Bring no harm to another by your
actions or inaction; Don’t do to others what you would not
want done to yourself; Treat others as you would want to be treated
yourself.All must be required to be held responsible for
their actions. That is Justice.

What we have now is
too many criminals on the loose who are threats to us. They know
that they can get away with crimes before they are caught and when
if they are caught the punishment is inadequate to deter future
crime.

Community
Spirit, Values

If we were to find the
greatest good in the good old days it was that we lived in a
caring community. where everyone did their share for the betterment
of the community. Everyone had a job to do even children in the
form of chores and learning in school. When your work was done you
could relax and have fun. If a neighbor was sick other neighbors
would get together to plow his field. There were plowing bees, barn
raisings and school raisings. Our first schools were built at school
raisings. Basically that was a big party where the community came
together to build the one room school. People in general, respected
themselves, each other and each other's property. Most people did
what was right. They took responsibility for themselves and their
actions. They acted in a responsible manner. They did not steal
others property. Neighbors treated each other just as if the
neighbor was their own family. They were a community of families
that were part of a bigger family "the community" all
working toward the common good of all.

We need to build
that human spirit and community spirit today. We need a code of
conduct for humans. We need decent values. We need to create and
foster communities where people, the government, the police, schools
and business work together for the benefit of everyone in the
community. The culture needs to be converted to a culture of caring.
It takes a community to raise a child but when children are raised
by a single parent it is more difficult. But worse when children get
their values from television and the streets the child may soon
become a non productive youth possibly headed for a life of crime.
History shows that when cultures become decadent they are easily
conquered. Many children spend more time watching TV programs than
they spend in school. Many TV programs today display decadent
morals. Many parents are not properly parenting. Children need to
be given decent values and learn responsibility and self reliance.
Too many are not and as a result our society is headed for trouble.

Countries
who remain strong train their young men to defend them.

Veterans
resent youth who dodge their responsibilities..

Education
needs improvement, discipline, responsibility.

Our young people are
not educated to respect our country and what it is supposed to stand
for. Our country stands for Liberty and Justice for all. The
constitution is the basic law of our land. It has a purpose: "We
the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect
union, establish justice, insure domestic tranquility, provide for
the common defense, promote the general welfare, and secure the
blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity, do ordain and
establish this Constitution for the United States of America."

Our young people are
not educated in history. They should be educated in the most
important things in history. Such as our constitution and bill of
rights and our country's struggle for freedom. They should learn
about the world wars and how their grandfathers fought and died to
preserve their freedom and way of life. I have had young people
tell me that the Holocaust did not exist. Other countries put their
bright kids thru college and use their skills and abilities. The USA
wastes most of our bright kids ability's and skills by not
supporting their education. We can't afford to do that any longer.
Other countries train their youth in occupations and give their
young people basic training in defending their country. As a result
other countries may surpass us not only in technology but in
education, economics and military defense/offense capability.

Courage

It falls on every
generation to preserve its freedom and way of life. The current
generation may soon have to defend their freedoms again. Actually it
should be an ongoing process of educating the young people and
preparing them. We must educate them and we must prepare them
now. If you enjoy your freedoms thank us veterans. At least we
veterans had the courage and guts to stand up and defend our freedom
and way of life. And at the most thousands gave everything they had
including their lives often after great personal pain and suffering.
Do most young people today have enough courage to do that much? We
must educate all of young people in our freedoms and history in
addition to the ability to read, do math, write and express
themselves in public and learn an occupation. They need to know how
things work (physical science) and how the world and civilization
(or lack of it) works. And we must prepare to defend our freedom.
The threats mentioned above are real. We must learn from history,
be informed, observant and prepared.

Cultures that have a
code of conduct advance better especially if they are prepared.

Putting head in
sand or ignoring reality is asking for trouble.

Sitting ducks are
easy targets. We are sitting ducks.

Even though there are
good things happening, attention urgently needs to be given to the
following matters which may destroy our America and our freedoms and
way of life. The conquering of countries is a fact of history and we
are greatly outnumbered in the world by peoples who would like a
piece of our country.

It appears that the
government is allowing foreigners to buy our banks real estate and
many companies thereby getting control of them and siphoning off
profits to their foreign countries. President Bush wanted to give
foreigners control of more of our ports.

There are in excess of
sixty million aliens living here with millions more arriving yearly.
Ten million more just in the last few years. A few of them believe
that it is OK to kill innocent women and children. Most aliens have
little if any loyalty to the US and have not renounced citizenship
in their mother country. Our military has largely been disbanded and
is stretched so thin by never ending warfare in several countries
that experts question its ability to do its main job which is to
protect us..

Our precious
technology is being sold by companies for selfish profit.

Our military is about
to be upstaged and made nearly powerless by brilliant Chinese who
are now using our technology that took us years to develop.

The Chinese have the
largest standing army in the world, a growing navy and now have
secret weapons that can knock out our military to a large extent.

Most of our
population and our youth are unprepared and unable to defend
themselves.

They have more bright
young people than we have young people.

Their bright young
people are given the opportunity for advanced technical education
while many of ours are given a sub level education and can't even
find a job to help pay for college.

Education in the USA
is being ignored as has been a large class of Americans who used to
be middle class but are now part of the largest growing class in
America "The Forgotten Class" of those living from
paycheck to paycheck just barely above poverty. The government has
allowed the profiteers to exploit them. It has allowed CEOs and the
rich to get away with robbery of the workers. Example: KMart.

We need to build
that human spirit and community spirit today. We need a code of
conduct for humans. We need decent values. We need to create and
foster communities where people, the government, the police, schools
and business work together for the benefit of everyone in the
community. The culture needs to be converted to a culture of caring.

Can you even buy an
electronic item in any store that was engineered and manufactured in
the USA? Other countries children are outscoring ours in science and
math and they are producing hundreds more engineers and advanced
technologists then we are. The result will be that they will surpass
us in engineering and technology and defense technology in just a
few years. This is very dangerous for our defense and for us..

Billions of people
want to live here. Who is going to stop them?

We are becoming
sitting ducks not unlike the decadent Romans, with our defenses so
weak as to be ineffective.

It is time the USA
with less than 4% the world population started paying attention to
what is happening in the world before it is too late.

We must prepare to
defend our freedom.

The threats
mentioned above are real.

A society with only a
few defenders is a sitting duck.

Our society needs
to get its head out of the sand of fantasy and deal with reality.

We must learn from
history, be informed, observant and prepared. We need to do this
now.